LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
RIVERSIDE 


CORRECT  COMPOSITION 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  TYPOGRAPHY 


A   TREATISE   ON   SPELLING 

ABBREVIATIONS,  THE    COMPOUNDING   AND 

DIVISION  OF  WORDS,  THE   PROPER   USE   OF   FIGURES 

AND   NUMERALS,   ITALIC   AND   CAPITAL 

LETTERS,  NOTES,  ETC. 

WITH 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    PUNCTUATION 
AND    PEOOF-EEADING 

BY 

THEODOEE    LOW    DE  VINNE,  A.M. 


NEW   YORK 
THE    CENTURY   CO. 

1901 


Z253 


Copyright,  1901,  by 
THEODORE  Low  DE  VINNE 


Published  November,  1901 


THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Preface vii 

I    Spelling 5 

II    Abbreviations 33 

ni    Compound  Words 61 

rv    Figures  and  Numerals 76 

v    Italic 94 

VI    Capital  Letters 108 

vii     Division  of  Words 128 

vin    Small  Capitals 145 

ix    Extracts  and  Letters 157 

x    Notes 171 

XI     Indention 182 

xii     Spacing 198 

xin    Quotation-marks 209 

xiv     Subheadings 230 

XV     Punctuation 241 

xvi     Proof-reading 294 

xvii    About  Copy 327 

xvin     Errors  of  the  Press 345 

Appendix 359 

Index 447 


PREFACE 


TTNFORTUNATELY  for  an  American  printer,  there  is  no 
\J  authority  beyond  appeal  for  the  spelling,  division, 
and  compounding  of  words.  Neither  in  America  nor  in 
Great  Britain  is  there  an  institution,  like  the  Academic 
Francaise  or  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction  of 
France,  which  finally  determines  disputed  questions 
in  orthography.  We  have  many  dictionaries  of  the 
English  language,  but  they  do  not  fully  agree  with  one 
another  as  to  the  spelling  of  some  words.  There  are  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  variable  spellings,  as  shown  in  the 
Appendix  to  this  work,  and  each  form  of  spelling  has 
had  the  appi'oval  of  good  writers. 

There  are  other  irregularities  in  literary  and  mechani- 
cal composition  that  are  even  more  unfortunate.  We 
have  grammars  that  give  us  rules  for  the  proper  use  of 
capital  letters,  italic,  and  the  marks  of  punctuation,  but 
these  rules,  good  as  far  as  they  go,  are  not  enough  for 
the  guidance  of  a  compositor  who  has  to  set  types  for 
works  much  unlike  as  to  form  and  style.  Nor  do  our 
high  schools  thoroughly  teach  the  correct  expression  of 
thought  in  writing.  The  pupil  is  taught  to  be  precise  hi 
his  pronunciation  of  Latin  and  Greek  as  well  as  of  Eng- 
lish ;  to  give  erroneous  accent  to  a  vowel,  or  improper 
emphasis  to  a  syllable,  stamps  him  as  a  vulgar  perverter 
of  correct  speech  ;  but  with  too  many  pupils  the  practice 


viii  Preface 

of  exactness  ends  with  correctness  of  pronunciation. 
Amateurs  in  literary  composition  soon  acquire  the  bad 
habit  of  writing  carelessly ;  they  spell  strange  names  in 
two  or  more  different  waysj  they  form  capital  letters, 
and  even  the  small  lower-case  letters,  so  obscurely  that 
one  word  may  be  mistaken  for  another ;  they  have  no 
clearly  defined  system,  or  at  least  observe  none,  for  the 
proper  placing  of  capitals,  italic,  and  the  marks  of  punc- 
tuation. 

There  is  a  general  belief  that  the  correction  of  these 
oversights  is  the  duty  of  the  printer,  and  the  writer  too 
often  throws  this  duty  largely  on  the  compositor  and 
the  proof-reader.  During  the  last  fifty  years  there  has 
been  no  marked  improvement  in  the  average  writer's 
preparation  of  copy  for  the  printer,  but  there  have  been 
steadily  increasing  exactions  from  book-buyers.  The 
printing  that  passed  a  tolerant  inspection  in  1850  does 
not  pass  now.  The  reader  insists  on  more  attention  to 
uniformity  in  mechanical  details.  He  notices  blemishes 
in  the  composition  of  types  more  quickly  than  lapses 
or  oversights  made  by  the  author  in  written  expression. 
Not  every  reader  assumes  to  be  a  critic  of  style  in  liter- 
ature, but  the  reader  of  to-day  is  more  or  less  a  critic  of 
style  in  type-setting. 

As  there  is  no  book  of  generally  accepted  authority 
that  lays  down  a  full  code  of  explicit  rules  for  orderly 
printing,  every  printing-house  that  strives  for  consis- 
tency as  well  as  accuracy  has  found  it  necessary  to  make 
its  own  code  for  its  own  work.  The  code  (or  style-card, 
as  it  is  often  called)  is  constantly  needed  in  every  house 
for  the  guidance  of  new  compositors  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  uniformity.  But  the  works  done  in  different 
printing-houses  are  much  unlike,  and  different  rules 
have  to  be  made  for  different  kinds  of  books,  newspa- 
pers, and  trade  catalogues.  What  is  correct  in  one 
house  may  be  incorrect  in  another,  and  rules  have  to  be 
more  or  less  flexible  for  special  occasions.  Yet  there 


Preface  ix 

are  rules  in  all  codes  upon  which  all  careful  printers 
agree,  and  this  treatise  is  the  result  of  an  attempt  to 
combine  and  classify  them. 

It  should  be  understood,  however,  at  the  outset,  that 
the  writer  does  not  propose  here  a  complete  system  for 
correct  book-making.  The  planning  of  a  new  book, 
from  the  determination  of  the  shape  of  page  and  proper 
width  of  margin  to  the  selection  of  the  style  and  size  of 
type  in  which  each  of  its  many  parts  should  be  set,  is  a 
subject  too  broad  to  be  fairly  treated  in  a  limited  space. 
This  treatise  must  be  given  up  to  the  consideration  of 
the  proprieties  of  undisplayed  text  composition,  which 
is  really  the  more  important  part  of  typography.  It  is 
the  correctness  and  the  careful  arrangement  of  text- 
matter  more  than  any  novelty  in  plan,  grace  in  display, 
or  skill  in  decoration  that  give  distinction  to  any  book. 
Next  to  clearness  of  expression  on  the  part  of  the  author 
comes  clearness  in  its  reproduction  by  the  printer.  An 
incorrect  expression  may  be  overlooked  in  speech  or  in 
letter- writing,  but  a  slovenly  arrangement  of  words  in 
type-setting  is  rated  as  a  serious  offence  by  the  critical 
reader,  who  practically  requires  the  printer  to  be  more 
exact  or  at  least  more  systematic  than  the  author. 

It  is  believed  that  the  methods  here  advised,  although 
they  may  differ  from  those  of  a  few  codes,  fairly  define 
the  fixed  practice  of  the  greater  number  of  authors  and 
printers  concerning  the  niceties  of  type-setting.  The 
writer's  experience  of  more  than  fifty  years  as  middle- 
man between  the  author  on  the  one  side  and  the  printer 
on  the  other  warrants  his  belief  that  the  methods  here 
advised  are  those  that  have  been  sanctioned  by  usage, 
and  that  they  are  enough  to  prevent  the  common  er- 
rors of  book  composition.  The  compositor  who  heeds 
these  suggestions  will  prevent  the  wasting  of  labor  in 
avoidable  alterations,  and  the  inexperienced  writer  who 
follows  directions  about  acceptable  copy  will  save  the 
expense  of  changes  that  must  be  made  in  proof. 


x  Preface 

In  making  the  last  revision  of  this  treatise,  the  writer 
has  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  assuming  to  be  its 
author,  for  the  work  done  is  as  much  the  compilation 
and  reaiTangement  of  notes  made  by  other  men  as  it  is 
the  outcome  of  the  writer's  own  long  practice  of  print- 
ing. He  acknowledges  with  thanks  and  the  highest 
appreciation  helpful  suggestions  and  contributions  made 
by  Mr.  Benjamin  E.  Smith,  managing  editor  of  the 
Century  Dictionary  and  editor  of  the  Century  Cyclopedia 
of  Names;  Mr.  Brander  Matthews,  professor  of  Eng- 
lish Literature  in  Columbia  University,  New  York ;  and 
Mr.  Wendell  Phillips  Garrison,  editor  of  the  Nation. 
Mr.  J.  Stearns  Gushing  and  the  proof-readers  of  the 
Norwood  Press  have  been  much  interested  in  the  prep- 
aration of  the  work,  and  especially  efficient  as  collabo- 
rators. Last,  but  not  least,  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  P.  J. 
Cassidy  of  the  De  Vinne  Press  for  general  supervision, 
and  for  the  preparation  of  a  table  of  the  variable  spell- 
ings of  the  seven  leading  dictionaries.  This  last  feature 
should  commend  the  book  to  every  careful  writer  and 
proof-reader. 

August,  1901. 


From  Johusoii's  Typograpbia  (1824). 


SPELLING 

>EVEN  large  dictionaries  of  the  English 
language  in  daily  use  show  that  they 
find  approval  by  editions  frequently 
reprinted:  in  England  and  her  colo- 
nies are  Stormonth's,  the  Imperial,  and 
the  Oxford;  in  the  United  States  are  Webster's 
(or,  in  its  latest  edition,  Webster's  International), 
Worcester's,  the  Century,  and  the  Standard.  They 
do  not  agree  in  the  spelling  of  every  word,  and 
scholars  who  have  been  taught  in  boyhood  to  ac- 
cept the  spelling  of  a  certain  dictionary  usually 
adhere  to  that  spelling  in  manhood  and  sometimes 
are  intolerant  of  any  other.  It  follows  that  there 
is  occasional  disagreement  between  writers  and 
printers  about  correct  spelling.  Considering  the 
great  number  of  words  that  find  place  in  every 
dictionary,  the  words  of  changeable  spelling  are 


6  Variable  spellings 

relatively  few.  Most  noticeable  in  English  dic- 
tionaries are  the  retention  of  u  in  -our  words  like 
honour  and  colour,  and  the  preference  for  s  in 
words  that  all  American  dictionaries  spell  with  z, 
as  authorize  and  harmonize.  Peculiarities  like 
ax,  wagon,  program,  theater,  and  the  rejection 
of  one  of  the  doubled  consonants  in  words  like 
traveled,  are  mannerisms  of  some  American  dic- 
tionaries. 

In  the  compounding  of  words  the  divergences 
are  great  and  increasing.  In  the  first  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century  rail  road  and  steam  boat 
were  separate  words;  after  a  little  use  the  noun 
and  its  qualifier  were  connected  by  a  hyphen; 
now  they  are  welded  together  in  one  word  by  all 
dictionary  makers.  Other  words  have  undergone 
or  are  now  undergoing  similar  changes,  which 
have  been  made  in  print,  not  by  the  order  of  any 
academy  or  by  accepted  teachers  of  language,  but 
by  writers  who  choose  to  deviate  from  previous 
usage.  All  the  changes  begin  with  writers.  Dic- 
tionary makers  (Webster  excepted)  claim  that  they 
do  not  originate  changes,  and  that  they  record  only 
those  that  have  been  generally  accepted. 

To  many  readers  the  variations  of  British  and 
American  spelling  and  of  compounded  and  sepa- 
rated words  are  of  slight  importance.  Tolera- 
tion is  conceded  to  national  mannerisms  that  have 
been  confirmed  by  usage  and  do  not  confuse  the 
meaning  intended.  Yet  there  are  changes  which 


Variable  compounds  7 

seem  trivial  to  the  reader  that  are  of  importance 
to  the  printer.  To  take  out  u  in  colour  to  please 
one  author,  to  put  u  in  honor  to  please  another, 
and  to  compound  or  to  separate  meeting  words 
in  the  proof  when  these  words  were  not  so  written 
in  the  copy,  are  discouraging  to  the  compositor 
and  hindrances  to  quick  performance. 

The  changes  sanctioned  by  dictionaries  seem  to 
have  been  a  sufficient  warrant  for  some  writers  to 
take  other  and  greater  liberties.  Books  are  made 
here  and  abroad  in  which  some  words  are  spelled 
and  compounded  after  one  dictionary  and  other 
words  by  another.  In  compound  words  editors 
and  proof-readers  find  opportunity  for  the  exercise 
of  nice  critical  ability  in  the  making  of  alterations 
which  they  assert  are  for  the  sake  of  consistency, 
but  it  is  difficult  for  any  one  who  is  not  a  profes- 
sional lexicographer  to  be  minutely  exact  in  fol- 
lowing all  the  compoundings  of  any  dictionary. 
It  is  still  more  difficult  for  a  proof-reader  to  aid 
the  author  in  the  establishment  of  this  consis- 
tency when  that  author  uses  or  rejects  peculiari- 
ties at  his  pleasure ;  for,  in  spite  of  all  dictionary 
teachings,  the  author  is  the  only  authority  beyond 
appeal  in  the  printing-house  for  the  spelling  and 
division  of  words. 

The  order  of  an  author  to  disregard  all  variable 
spellings  in  his  copy,  and  to  spell  according  to  a 
specified  dictionary,  has  to  be  obeyed  in  the  first 
stage  of  the  work  by  compositors  who  have  small 


8  Importance  of  uniformity 

knowledge  of,  and  often  no  access  to,  that  author- 
ity, for  not  one  printing-house  in  a  hundred  has 
more  than  one  dictionary  as  a  book  of  reference. 
Prompt  obedience  is  impracticable  when  British 
orthography  is  demanded.  The  Imperial  and  Stor- 
month's  dictionaries  are  known  by  name  only  to 
many  American  proof-readers,  and  the  great  Ox- 
ford dictionary,  still  incomplete,  is  out  of  reach  of 
the  workmen  who  need  it  most.  In  the  absence 
of  authority  the  compositor  and  the  proof-reader 
have  to  hazard  guesses,  based  on  analogy,  at  the 
spelling  desired,  and  some  of  the  guesses  are  cer- 
tain to  be  wrong.  Failing  to  find  in  the  first  proof 
the  spelling  he  prefers,  the  author  does  last  what 
he  should  have  done  first,  and  carefully  writes  out 
on  the  proof  the  spellings  which  should  have  been 
made  in  his  copy.  These  alterations  delay  the  work 
and  give  dissatisfaction  to  the  author  because  of 
the  added  expense.1 

There  are  some  niceties  in  spelling  and  style  that 
have  to  be  passed  with  slight  notice.  The  forma- 
tion of  foreign  words  in  the  plural  number,  obso- 

1  To  remove  some  of   these  list  may  not  include  every  vari- 

hindrances  to  acceptable  compo-  ation,  but  it  does  include  all  in 

sition  the  writer  has  prepared  ordinary  use,  and  some  that  the 

a  list  of  variable  spellings  com-  compositor  may  never  meet, 

piled  from  seven  dictionaries  in  Expression  of  preference  for 

frequent  use.      (See  Appendix  the  authority  of  any  dictionary 

A.)    The  spelling  of  the  Stan-  has  been  avoided.     Remarks  oc- 

dard  dictionary  differs  from  that  casionally  made  about  variable 

of  the  Century  in  comparatively  spelling  are  not  intended  to  be 

few  words,  but  the  exceptions  dogmatic  or  argumentative,  but 

are  enough  to  be  noted.     The  helpful  only. 


Distinctness  in  writing  9 

lete  or  little-used  forms  of  past  tenses  and  parti- 
ciples, and  the  use  of  accents  and  diacritical  marks 
for  words  in  English,  belong  to  grammar  rather 
than  to  typography.  In  the  use  of  these  niceties 
authors  and  editors  have  been  and  will  continue 
to  be  laws  to  themselves.  For  them,  and  indeed 
for  all  who  have  made  the  niceties  of  literature  a 
study,  this  book  was  not  written.  It  is  intended 
for  the  much  larger  number  of  compositors  and 
proof-readers  who  are  more  or  less  bewildered  by 
the  obscure  writing  of  different  authors,  especially 
in  words  that  end  in  -able  and  -ible,  -ent  and 
-ant,  -ise  and  -ize,  -or  and  -er,  and  by  the  con- 
flict of  authorities  out  of  their  reach.  The  com- 
positor especially  needs  a  book  of  reference  in 
which  different  spellings  are  presented  and  the 
spelling  preferred  by  the  author  is  clearly  set  forth. 
The  right  of  an  educated  author  to  spell  as  he 
pleases  is  not  to  be  questioned,  but  he  should  write 
distinctly.  As  an  additional  safeguard,  he  should 
note  on  the  first  page  of  his  copy  the  name  of  the 
dictionary  he  desires  to  be  accepted  as  authority. 
If  he  chooses  to  deviate  from  that  dictionary  in 
some  words,  he  should  prepare  a  list  of  his  spell- 
ings of  these  words.  This  precaution  is  especially 
important  for  his  own  guidance  in  geographical 
and  historical  names  which  are  differently  ren- 
dered in  foreign  languages,  as  Mentz,  Mainz,  and 
Mayence.  It  should  not  be  expected  that  a  com- 
positor will  make  any  one  spelling  invariable  when 


10       Compositors  not  correctors  of  copy 

spellings  vary  in  copy,  or  that  a  proof-reader  will 
attempt  uniformity  without  positive  instruction. 
Arabic  and  Oriental  names  with  many  accents,  and 
ordinary  names  with  diacritical  marks,  need  par- 
ticular attention.  The  preparation  of  a  proper 
code  of  spellings  calls  for  time  and  trouble  on  the 
part  of  the  author,  but  he  is  well  repaid  by  cleaner 
proofs  and  by  largely  reduced  expense  for  altera- 
tions in  type.  These  precautions  are  observed  in 
their  best  work  by  all  disciplined  writers. 

Much  copy  comes  into  every  printing-house  from 
writers  who  are  not  illiterate,  but  who  are  careless 
or  apparently  indifferent  about  spelling  and  writ- 
ing. When  they  do  not  give  particular  directions, 
and  their  spelling  is  not  uniform,  it  is  the  rule  of 
all  printing-houses  that  the  spelling  shall  be  that 
of  the  dictionary  selected  by  that  house  as  author- 
ity. When  two  or  more  forms  of  the  same  word 
are  presented  in  that  dictionary,  preference  should 
be  given  to  the  form  that  has  the  first  place.  A 
debatable  form  of  spelling  in  copy  that  may  be 
queried  afterward  by  the  proof-reader  should  not 
be  anticipated  and  corrected  by  the  compositor, 
Correction  before  the  reading  of  proof  is  always  a 
risk,  and  in  many  houses  an  unpardonable  liberty. 
It  is  safer  to  follow  copy  and  to  leave  all  sugges- 
tions of  emendation  to  the  proof-reader.  The  re- 
marks on  spelling  that  follow  have  to  be  confined 
to  words  made  uncertain  by  illegible  writing  or 
by  carelessness  in  the  preparation  of  the  copy. 


Formation  of  plurals  11 

THE  SPELLING  OF  NOUNS  IN  THE  PLUEAL 

Changes  from  the  singular  to  the  plural  in  a  proof 
negligently  revised  sometimes  put  upon  a  composi- 
tor the  duty  of  making  a  proper  plural.  It  is  usu- 
ally formed  by  adding  s  to  the  word  in  the  singu- 
lar number,  as  bamboo,  bamboos ;  cameo,  cameos ; 
folio,  folios ;  octavo,  octavos.  When  the  added  s 
makes  another  syllable  (as  it  does  in  hiss,  hisses ; 
sash,  sashes),  and  sometimes  when  it  does  not  (as 
in  buffalo,  buffaloes ;  potato,  potatoes ;  negro,  ne- 
groes ;  hero,  heroes),  es  is  added. 

When  the  noun  ends  in  y,  preceded  by  a  con- 
sonant, the  y  is  changed  in  the  plural  to  ies,  as  in 
dainty,  dainties ;  pygmy,  pygmies ;  spy,  spies. 

Some  words  ending  in  f  or  fe  change  the  f  for  v 
in  the  plural,  as  half,  halves ;  shelf,  shelves ;  knife, 
knives.  Fifes,  proofs,  and  strifes  are  exceptions. 

Nouns  in  common  use,  derived  from  foreign  lan- 
guages, usually  form  their  plurals  according  to  the 
general  English  rule,  as  index,  indexes;  cherub, 
cherubs ;  formula,  formulas ;  seraph,  seraphs ;  beau, 
beaus ;  but  in  scientific  writings  the  plurals  should 
be  formed  according  to  the  rules  of  the  language 
from  which  the  words  have  been  derived,  as  in 

appendix,  appendices  index,  indices 

beau,  beaux  medium,  media 

cherub,  cherubim  seraph,  seraphim 

formula,  formulae  vortex,  vortices 


12  Irregular  plurals 

For  the  proper  plurals  of  foreign  words,  and  of 
some  others  that  are  accepted  as  strictly  English, 
the  dictionary  should  be  consulted.  The  formation 
of  the  plurals  of  English  words  cannot  be  reduced  to 
a  few  simple  rules :  in  some  words  they  are  of  great 
irregularity,  as  may  be  seen  in  these  examples : 

brother,  brethren  mongoose,  mongooses 

cayman,  caymans  mouse,  mice 

child,  children  Mr.,  Messrs, 

foot,  feet  Mrs.,  Mesdames 

goose,  geese  ox,  oxen 

man,  men  tooth,  teeth 

While  s  is  sometimes  added  to  the  nouns  Bedouin, 
cannon,  heathen,  to  indicate  the  plural,  they  are 
commonly  regarded  as  both  singular  and  plural, 
and  the  final  s  is  omitted.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  words  plural  in  form,  as  means  (agency  or 
instrumentality),  ethics,  politics,  news,  optics,  may 
be  used  as  nominatives  with  verbs  in  the  singu- 
lar number ;  but  wages,  pains,  aborigines,  antipo- 
des, and  literati  need  a  verb  in  the  plural  number. 

Compounded  nouns  add  the  s  to  the  principal 
word,  as  in  courts-martial,  sons-in-law,  stepsons, 
major-generals,  four-per-cents. 

The  plural  of  nouns  ending  in  ful,  as  handful, 
spoonful,  etc.,  is  one  of  the  unsettled  spellings. 
Some  make  it  handsful,  spoonsful,  etc. ;  but  the 
preference  of  most  writers  is  for  spelling  the  words 
as  oftenest  pronounced,  handfuls,  spoonfuls,  etc. 


When  to  use  a  or  an  13 

THE  DIGRAPHS  OR  DIPHTHONGS 

The  digraphs  (or  diphthongs,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called)  33  and  OB  are  not  in  as  much  favor- 
as  they  have  been  for  the  true  rendering  of  Latin 
and  Greek  words  and  their  derivatives.  Aeneid, 
Aeschylus,  Caesar,1  Oedipus,  mediaeval,  etc.,  are  so 
written  now  by  many  classical  scholars.  In  early 
English  names  like  Alfred  and  Caedmon,  and  in 
French  words  like  manosuvre,  the  digraph  should 
be  retained. 

A  OR  AN 

It  is  a  good  general  rule  to  use  an  before  a  word 
beginning  with  a  vowel  sound,  or  in  which  the  ini- 
tial h  is  silent,  and  to  use  a  before  a  word  begin- 
ning with  a  consonant  or  a  consonant  sound,  or 
with  a  vowel  preceded  by  a  strong  aspirate.  The 
few  exceptions  cannot  be  classified. 


a  eulogy 
a  European 
a  ewe 
a  ewer 

a  hope 
a  horse 
a  hospital2 
a  hotel2 

a  unanimous 
a  uniform 
a  union 
a  universal 

a  heroic 

a  humble 

a  useful 

a  historical 

a  oneness 

a  usurper 

an  adder  an  herb,  -al          an  honor,  -able 

an  heir,  -loom     an  honest  an  hour,  -glass 

i  The  Latin  races  discard  the  2  These  are  American  meth- 

diphthong  in  names  and  words  ods.    There  are  English  authors 

derived  from  Latin  or  Greek,  of  eminence  who  write  an  hotel, 

Caesar  in  French  is  Ce'sar.  an  hospital,  an  hydraulic. 


14  When  accents  may  be  used 

ACCENTS 

It  is  one  of  the  many  merits  of  the  English  lan- 
guage that  words  and  sentences  can  be  made  suf- 
ficiently intelligible  without  the  aid  of  accents, 
which  are  reserved  for  dictionaries  and  educational 
books.  The  grave  accent  for  the  final  syllable  -ed 
occasionally  is  us'ed  in  poetry  to  show  that  this 
-ed  is  a  distinct  syllable.  It  rarely  appears  in 
prose,  but  when  so  marked  by  an  author  it  should 
be  repeated.  All  words  or  proper  names  distinc- 
tively foreign  should  be  carefully  accented  as  they 
appear  in  their  own  language.  Other  foreign 
words  that  have  been  incorporated  in  the  English 
language,  as  depot,  debut,  debris,  etc.,  do  not  need 
accents;  but  when  accents  have  been  carefully 
added  by  the  writer  they  should  so  appear  in  print. 

O  AND  OH 

The  forms  O  and  oh  are  often  made  interchange- 
able by  some  very  careful  writers;  but  it  seems 
to  be  generally  conceded  that  the  proper  form  for 
an  address  in  the  vocative  is  O,  with  the  exclama- 
tion-point at  the  end  of  the  exclamatory  phrase, 
and  not  immediately  after  the  interjection. 

O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us ! 

O  my  fellow- citizens ! 

Break  on  thy  cold  gray  stones,  0  sea ! 

Blessed  art  thou,  0  Lord ! 


Distinction  between  0  and  oh  15 

O  is  also  used  as  an  ejaculation  expressive  of  a 
wish  or  desire,  when  it  is  joined  to  the  following 
clause  by  the  word  for  or  that. 

O  for  rest  and  peace ! 

0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove  ! 

As  an  interjection  expressing  surprise,  indigna- 
tion, or  regret,  O  is  frequently  followed  by  an 
implied  ellipsis  and  the  word  that. 

0  [it  is  sad]  that  I  should  live  to  see  this  day ! 

O  is  common  as  an  exclamation  in  trivial  speech : 
as,  O  my  !  O  dear !  In  many  Southern  States  O 
is  the  customary  beginning  of  familiar  and  abrupt 
address,  as  O  John  !  O  James  ! 

Oh,  an  ejaculation  evoked  by  pain  or  woe,  or 
by  sudden  emotion,  as  surprise,  consternation,  or 
delight,  properly  takes  a  lower-case  letter  (except 
when  beginning  a  sentence),  and  is  followed  by  an 
exclamation-point  either  directly  after  the  oh  or  at 
the  end  of  the  exclamatory  phrase. 

But  she  is  in  her  grave,  and  oh ! 
The  difference  to  me ! 

Oh,  how  I  suffer ! 

Oh !  my  offence  is  rank,  it  smells  to  heaven. 

Oh  is  often  used,  even  in  the  Northern  States,  as 
a  colloquial  introduction  to  a  sentence,  as  in 

Oh,  James,  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
Oh,  yes,  it  is  quite  satisfactory. 


16 


Endings  in  -ible 


ENDINGS  IN  -IBLE  AND  -ABLE 

The  correct  spelling  of  words  that  end  in  -ible  or 
-able  is  often  a  puzzle  to  a  compositor  when  they 
have  been  obscurely  written.  For  his  guidance 
the  following  list  of  the  -ible  words  is  presented. 
It  may  be  inferred  that  doubtful  words  not  ap- 
pearing in  this  list  end  in  -able.1 


accessible 

corruptible 

expansible    . 

admissible 

credible 

expressible 

appetible 

decoctible 

extendible 

apprehensible 

deducible 

extensible 

audible 

defeasible 

fallible 

cessible 

defensible 

feasible 

coercible 

descendible 

fencible 

compatible 

destructible 

flexible 

competible 

digestible 

forcible 

comprehensible 

discernible 

frangible 

compressible 

distensible 

fusible 

conceptible 

divisible 

gullible 

contemptible 

docible 

horrible 

contractible 

edible 

illegible 

controvertible 

effectible 

immiscible 

convertible 

eligible 

impassible  {,sei7) 

convincible 

eludible 

intelligible 

corrigible 

enforcible 

irascible 

corrosible 

evincible 

legible 

i  On  the  use  of  this  suffix,  Dr.  in  -able,  etc.  (London,  Triibner 
Fitzedward  Hall's  authoritative  &  Co.,  1877),  may  be  consulted 
treatise,  On  English  Adjectives  with  advantage. 


Endings  in  -ible 


17 


miscible 

possible 

reversible 

negligible 

producible 

revertible 

partible 

reducible 

risible 

passible  («*  beiowj 

reflexible 

seducible 

perceptible 

refrangible 

sensible 

permissible 

remissible 

tangible 

persuasible 

reprehensible 

terrible 

pervertible 

resistible 

transmissible 

plausible 

responsible 

visible 

Impassible  (incapable  of  suffering  or  emotion) 
should  be  distinguished  from  impassable  (not 
passable).  This  remark  applies  also  to  the  words 
passible  and  passable. 

CLASSICAL  NAMES  WITH  K 

To  lead  to  a  uniform  pronunciation  of  words  con- 
taining the  Greek  %,  heretofore  rendered  as  c 
before  some  vowels  and  as  s  before  other  vowels, 
some  writers  in  England  and  many  on  the  Con- 
tinent write  k  in  classical  names  and  their  com- 
pounds :  Thukydides  for  Thucydides,  Kikero  for 
Cicero,  Kimmerian  for  Cimmerian,  Mykenae  for 
Mycenae.  These  new  spellings  are  chosen  almost 
exclusively  by  teachers  of  the  classics.  When  the 
compositor  finds  either  form  in  the  manuscript  of 
an  educated  writer  he  should  repeat  it  faithfuDy 
without  question  or  remark.  The  determination 
of  the  proper  form  is  outside  the  province  of  the 
compositor  or  proof-reader. 


18 


Endings  in  -or 


ENDINGS  IN  -IN  OE  -INE,  -ID  OR  -IDE 

The  common  words  canine,  feline,  marine,  divine, 
clandestine,  are  always  spelled  with  the  final  e,  and 
this  was  the  preferred  form  for  chlorin,  cholesterin, 
creatin,  fibrin,  protein,  etc. ;  but  authors  who  now 
write  on  medicine  or  therapeutics  reject  the  final  e. 
The  old  chemical  terms  chloride,  oxide,  etc.,  are  now 
written  chlorid,  oxid,  etc.1 


NOUNS  ENDING  IN  -OR 


Words  ending  in  -or  and  -er  are  often  especially 
misleading  in  illegibly  written  manuscript.  The 
following  lists  of  these  words  will  be  found  helpful : 


abbreviator 

administrator 

appreciator 

abductor 

admonitor 

arbitrator 

abettor  (law) 

adulator 

assassinator 

abominator 

adulterator 

assessor 

abrogator 

aggravator 

benefactor 

accelerator 

aggressor 

bettor  (one  who  bets) 

acceptor  (law) 

agitator 

calculator 

accommodator 

amalgamator 

calumniator 

accumulator 

animator 

captor 

actor 

annotator 

castor  (oil) 

adjudicator 

antecessor 

npnenv  (examiner. 
CeilbOI    critic) 

adjutor 

apparitor 

coadjutor 

i  The  new  spellings  of  chemi- 
cal words,  which  appear  in  the 
Century  and  the  Standard  dic- 
tionaries, and  in  the  last  edition 


of  Gould's  Dictionary  of  Medi- 
cine, were  recommended  by  the 
American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science. 


Endings  in  -or 


19 


collector 

depressor 

extensor 

competitor 

deteriorator 

extirpator 

compositor 

detractor 

extractor 

conductor 

dictator 

fabricator 

confessor 

dilator 

factor 

conqueror 

director 

flexor 

conservator 

dissector 

fornicator 

consignor 

disseizor  (law) 

fumigator 

conspirator 

disseminator 

generator 

constrictor 

distributor 

gladiator 

constructor 

divisor 

governor 

contaminator 

dominator 

grantor  (law) 

contemplator 

donor 

habitator 

continuator 

effector 

imitator 

contractor 

elector 

impostor 

contributor 

elevator 

impropriator 

corrector 

elucidator 

inaugurator 

councillor 

emulator 

inceptor 

counsellor 

enactor 

incisor 

covenantor  (law)  equivocator 

inheritor 

creator 

escheator 

initiator 

creditor 

estimator 

innovator 

cultivator 

exactor 

insinuator 

cunctator 

excavator 

institutor 

debtor 

exceptor 

instructor 

decorator 

executor  (law) 

interlocutor 

delator  (law) 

exhibitor 

interpolator 

denominator 

explorator 

interrogator 

denunciator 

expositor 

inventor 

depredator 

expostulator 

investor 

20 


Endings  in  -or 


juror 

preceptor- 

sculptor 

lector 

precursor 

sectator 

legator 

predecessor 

selector 

legislator 

predictor 

senator 

lessor  (law) 

prevaricator 

separator 

mediator 

procrastinator- 

sequestrator 

modulator 

procreator 

servitor 

monitor 

procurator 

solicitor 

mortgagor  (law) 

professor 

spectator 

multiplicator 

progenitor 

speculator 

narrator 

projector 

spoliator 

navigator 

prolocutor 

sponsor 

negotiator 

promulgator 

successor 

n  on  juror 

propagator 

suitor 

numerator 

propitiator 

supervisor 

objector 

proprietor 

suppressor 

obligor  (law) 

prosecutor 

surveyor 

observator 

protector 

survivor 

operator 

protractor 

testator 

originator 

purveyor 

tormentor 

pacificator 

recognizer  (law) 

traitor 

participator 

recriminator 

transgressor- 

peculator 

reflector 

translator 

percolator 

regenerator 

valuator 

perforator 

regulator 

vendor  (law) 

perpetrator 

relator  (law) 

venerator 

persecutor 

rotator 

ventilator 

personator 

sacrificator 

vindicator 

perturbator 

sailor  (seaman) 

violator 

possessor 

scrutator 

visitor 

Endings  in  -er 


21 


NOUNS  ENDING  IN  -ER 


abetter2 

corrupter 

interrupter 

abstractor 

covenanter 

interpreter 

accepter- 

debater 

inviter 

adapter 

defender 

jailer 

adviser 

deliberater 

lamenter 

affirmer 

deserter 

mortgager2 

aider 

desolater 

obliger2 

almoner 

deviser 

obstructer 

annoyer 

discontinued 

obtruder 

arbiter 

disturber 

perfecter 

assenter 

entreater 

perjurer 

asserter 

exalter 

preventer 

bailer2 

exasperater 

probationer 

Caster  (cruet,  roller) 

exciter 

propeller 

censer  (vessel) 

executer2 

protester 

concocter 

expecter 

recognizer2 

condenser 

frequenter 

regrater 

conferrer 

granter2 

relater2 

conjurer 

idolater 

respecter 

consulter 

imposer 

sailer  (ship) 

continuer 

impugn  er 

sorcerer 

contradicter 

incenser 

suggester 

contriver 

inflicter 

supplanter 

convener 

in  suiter 

upholder 

conveyer 

interceder 

vender2 

i  Variants   ending  with   -er,  betical  order  under  the  different 

-re  (center,  centre ;  niter,  nitre ;  authorities  in  Appendix  A. 

scepter,  sceptre;  theater,  thea-  2  Except  in  law,  where  the  suf- 

tre ;  etc.)  will  be  found  in  alpha-  fix  -or  is  preferred. 

2 


22 


Endings  in  -sion  and  -tion 


NOUNS  ENDING  IN  -SION  AND  -TION 

A  complete  list  of  these  words  would  be  too  long  for 
a  table  of  ready  reference,  but  the  different  endings 
may  be  determined  by  this  rule :  Words  which,  in 
their  shortest  form,  end  with  -d,  -de,  -ge,  -mit,  -rt, 
-se,  or  -ss,  are  usually  lengthened  by  the  ending 
-sion.  Other  words  take  the  ending  -tion. 


abscind,  abscission 
absterge,  abstersion 
admit,  admission 
condescend,  condescension 
confess,  confession 
confuse,  confusion 
convert,  conversion 
descend,  descension 
emerge,  emersion 
evade,  evasion 


extend,  extension 
impress,  impression 
intrude,  intrusion 
pervert,  perversion 
pretend,  pretension 
protrude,  protrusion 
remit,  remission 
revert,  reversion 
revise,  revision 
seclude,  seclusion 


IRREGULAR  FORMS 


adhesion 

dissension 

propulsion 

assertion 

distortion 

recursion 

attention 

divulsion 

repulsion 

coercion 

expulsion 

revulsion 

cohesion 

impulsion 

scansion 

crucifixion 

insertion 

suspicion 

declension 

intention 

tension 

dimension 

occasion 

version 

Ambiguous  terminations  23 

WORDS  ENDING  IN  -ANCE  OR  -ENCE,  -ANCY 
OR  -ENCY,  -ANT  OR  -ENT 

The  terminations  specified  in  this  heading  are  often 
made  misleading  by  careless  or  illegible  writing. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  many  common  words 
ending  in  -ence,  -ency,  -ent : 

abducent  concurrence, -ent  descendent(adj.) 

abhorrence,  -ent  condolence  despondency 

abluent  conference  despondent 

absent,  -ence        confidence,  -ent   difference 
absorbent  confluence,  -ent   diffidence,  -ent 

abstergent  consentient  diffluent 

abstinence,  -ent   consequence         efficiency,  -ent 
adherence,  -ent    consequent  eminence,  -ency 

advertency,  -ent  consistence,  -ent  eminent 
affluence,  -ent       consistency  excellence,  -ency 

antecedence          constituent  excellent 

antecedent  continence,  -ent  existence,  -ent 

apparent  convenience, -ent  expediency,  -ent 

appertinent          corpulence,  -ent  feculence,  -ent 
appetence,  -ency  correspondence    flocculence,  -ent 
ardent  correspondent      fluency,  -ent 

benevolence,-ent  currency,  -ent  fraudulence,-ent 
circumference  deference  imminence,  -ent 

coexistence  delinquency,  -ent  impatience,  -ent 

coherence,  -ent    dependence          impellent 
coincidence,  -ent  dependent  (adj.)  imprudence,  -ent 
competence,  -ent  deponent  impudence,  -ent 


24  Ambiguous  terminations 

incipience,  -ent    permanency         resplendent 
incumbency,-ent  permanent  respondent 

independence       pertinence,  -ent   reverence,  -ent 
independent         pestilence,  -ent    sentient 
indolence,  -ent     poculent  solvency,  -ent 

inference  portent  somnolency,  -ent 

inherence,  -ent    potency,  -ent        subserviency 
intermittent         precedence,  -ent  subservient 
iridescence,  -ent  preference  subsidence, -ency 

lambent  prescience,  -ent    subsistence,  -ent 

latency,  -ent        presence,  -ent      succulent 
leniency,  -ent       presidency,  -ent  superintendence 
magniloquence    proficiency,  -ent  superintendency 
magniloquent      prominence,  -ent  superintendent 
malevolence,-ent  proponent  tendence,  -ency 

mellifluence, -ent  providence,  -ent  transcendence 
mollient  prudence,  -ent      transcendency 

obedience,  -ent     purulence,  -ent    transcendent 
occurrence,  -ent   quintessence        transference 
omniscience, -ent  recurrence,  -ent  transient 
opulence,  -ency    reference  transparency 

opulent  refluence,  -ent      transparent 

patience,  -ent       repellent  transplendency 

pendent  (adj.)      residence,  -ency  transplendent 
pendency  resident  turbulence,  -ent 

penitence,  -ent     resolvent  vicegerency,  -ent 

permanence          resplendence        virulence,  -ent 

With  few  exceptions,  words  not  found  in  the  above 
list  should  end  in  -ance,  -ancy,  or  -ant. 


Proper  names  frequently  misspelled      25 

PROPER  NAMES 

Names  of  persons  and  places  are  frequently  mis- 
spelled. The  proper  names  of  geography,  history, 
fiction,  and  mythology  are  differently  rendered  in 
different  languages.  Two  forms  of  the  same  name 
may  be  written  unwittingly  by  a  rapid  writer.  To 
decide  upon  one  form  is  the  duty,  not  of  the  com- 
positor (nor  yet  of  the  proof-reader,  who  should 
query  unless  authorized  to  change),  but  of  the 
author,  who  should  write  the  name  in  one  form 
only  for  the  same  book.  When  this  duty  devolves 
on  the  proof-reader  he  may  confidently  accept  the 
preferred  spelling  of  the  dictionary  prescribed. 

There  are,  however,  many  names  not  to  be  found 
in  the  ordinary  dictionary.  Indian  names,  and  new 
places  in  the  United  States  recently  named,  will  be 
found  in  the  lists  prepared  by  the  Board  on  Geo- 
graphic Names  at  Washington.1  For  persons  of 
local  celebrity,  the  proof-reader  is  advised  to  record 
the  proper  spelling  in  an  indexed  memorandum- 
book.  The  names  here  given  need  special  care. 

Acadia  (Nova  Scotia)  Andersen,  Hans  C. 

Arcadia,  poetical  Apennines 

Allegheny  City  Appalachian 

Allegheny  River  Bastille,  The 

Alleghany  Mountains  Biglow  Papers 

i  Puerto  Rico  (the  form  adopted  by  the  Board  on  Geographic 
Names)  is  often  spelled  Porto  Rico. 


26 


Ambiguous  proper  names 


Bonheur,  Rosa,  painter 

Britannia 

Brittany 

Brookline,  Mass. 

Brooklyn,  New  York 

Burdette,  Robert  Jones 

Carey,  Mathew,  publicist  Grey,  Lady  Jane 

Gary,  Phoebe,  author         Greeley,  Horace 

Caribbean  Sea  Greely,  General  A.  W. 

Caribbees  Green,  J.  R.,  historian 

Carlisle,  J.  G.  Greene,  Robert,  dramatist 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  author  Harte,  Francis  Bret 


Field,  Cyrus  W. 
Fields,  James  T.,  author 
Fiske,  John,  historian 
Fribourg,  Switzerland 
Gerome,  Jean  Leon,  artist 
Gray,  Thomas,  poet 


Charleston,  S.C. 
Charlestown,  Mass. 
Chile 
Colombia  (South 

American  republic) 
Coverley,  Sir  Roger  de 
Dantzic 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry 
Defoe,  Daniel,  author 


Hobbes,  John  Oliver 

Hobbes,  Thomas 

Humphrey,  Duke 

Hutton,  Laurence,  author 

Iviza 

Johnson,  Samuel,  author 

Johnston,  Albert  Sidney 

Jonson,  Ben,  dramatist 

Leipsic 

Lenox  Library 


De  Quincey,  Thomas 
Douglas,  Stephen  Arnold  Lichfield,  England 
Douglass,  Frederick          Litchfield,  Connecticut 
Eifel  River  (in  Germany)  Livingstone,  David 
Eiffel  Tower  Luxembourg  Gardens 

Eliot,  George,  author        Luxembourg  Palace 
Elliott,  Ebenezer  Luxemburg,  Belgium 

Ericsson,  John,  inventor  Magdalen  College,Oxford 
Fenelon,  ecclesiastic         Magdalene  College, Camb. 


Distinctively  British  spellings  27 

Mainz  Reid,  Whitelaw 

Mitchell,  Donald  G.  Rhead,  Louis,  artist 

Mitchill,  Samuel  L.  Rheims 

Morris,  Gouverneur  Shakspere,1  William 

Mytilene,  island  (also  Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  author 

chief  city)  of  Lesbos  Smith,  Sydney 

Nuremberg  Spencer,  Herbert 

Oliphant,  Laurence  Spenser,  Edmund,  poet 
Philips,  Ambrose,  author  Sterne,  Laurence,  author 

Phillips,  Wendell  Strasburg  (French) 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  poet  Strassburg  (German) 

Procter,  Adelaide,  poet  Thompson,  Benjamin 

Pyrenees  Thomson,  James,  poet 

Read,  Thomas  B.,  poet  Ward,  Mrs.  Humphry 

Reade,  Charles,  novelist  Watt,  James,  inventor 

Reed,  Thomas  B.  Watts,  Dr.  Isaac 

Reid,  Thomas  Wiirtemberg 


DISTINCTIVELY  BRITISH  SPELLINGS 

British  spelling  is  occasionally  required,  and  as 
dictionaries  made  in  England  are  not  accessible  to 
compositors,  special  lists  of  some  variable  words  in 
frequent  use  are  here  appended.  (See  also  three 
columns  in  Appendix  A. )  A  general  direction  to  use 

l "  Shakspere  is  scholarly,  as  other  form  in  the  copy  of  an  edu- 

—  The  New  Shakspere  Society."  cated  writer,  that  form  should 

(Dr.  J.  A.  H.  Murray.)    This  is  be  repeated.    The  preferred  ad- 

the  spelling  of  the  Century  die-  jective  suffix  is  -ian,  not  -ean 

tionary,  but  if  the  compositor  or  (i.e.  Shaksperian,  not    Shak- 

reader  finds  Shakespeare  or  any  sperean). 


28          Distinctively  British  spellings 

British  spelling  is  not  specific  enough.  There  are 
differences  between  the  Imperial,  Stormonth,  and 
the  Oxford ; 1  therefore  a  request  for  British  spell- 
ing should  name  the  dictionary  to  be  followed. 


THE  -OUR  WORDS 


The  words  in  British  spelling  which  most  perplex 
the  compositor  are  those  ending  in  -our,  as 


arbour 
ardour 

enamour2 
endeavour 

parlour 
rancour 

armour 
behaviour 

favour 
fervour 

rigour 
rumour 

candour 

flavour 

savour 

clamour 
clangour 
colour 

glamour2 
harbour 
honour 

splendour 
succour 
tabour 

contour 

humour 

tambour 

demeanour 

labour 

tumour 

disfavour 

misbehaviour 

valour 

dishonour 
dolour 

neighbour 
odour 

vapour 
vigour 

l  The  New  English  Dictionary 
of  the  Philological  Society,  ed- 
ited by  Dr.  J.  A.  H.  Murray,  and 
commonly  known  as  "the  Ox- 
ford," probably  will  not  be  fin- 
ished before  the  year  1910.  For 
present  use  Stonnonth  and  the 
Imperial  are  the  only  complete 
and  authoritative  dictionaries  of 


modern  British  spellings.  A 
comparative  list  of  different 
spellings  in  these  dictionaries 
is  given  in  Appendix  A. 

2  These  spellings  are  preferred 
also  by  the  Century,  Standard, 
and  Worcester.  Webster  pre- 
fers glamour,  but  omits  the  u 
in  enamour. 


Variations  of  British  spellings          29 

While  the  -our  words  are  always  seen  in  British 
spelling,1  the  Oxford  dictionary  does  not  follow 
the  method  of  Stormonth,  who  changes  many  verbs 
ending  in  -ize  to  -ise,  as  in  civilise,  realise,  utilise. 


WORDS  ENDING  IN  -ISE 

advertise 

despise 

improvise 

advise 

devise 

incise     • 

affranchise 

disfranchise 

mainprise 

apprise  (to  in- 

disguise 

mauumise 

form) 

emprise 

merchandise 

chastise 

enfranchise 

premise 

circumcise 

enterprise 

reprise 

comprise 

excise 

revise 

compromise 

exercise 

surmise 

demise 

franchise 

surprise 

l  The  u  is  frequently  omitted 
when  the  termination  -ous  is 
added  to  any  of  the  -our  words, 
as  in  clamorous,  dolorous,  hu- 
morous, laborious,  odorous,  ran- 
corous, rigorous,  valorous,  vapor- 
ous, vigorous.  In  many  words 
derived  from  nouns  ending  in 
-our  the  u  is  omitted,  as  in 
armory,  colorable,  honorary,  in- 
vigorate, invigoration.  There 
are  a  few  English  authors  of 
authority  who  prefer  clamor, 
pallor,  and  tremor,  but  English 
usage  is  largely  in  favor  of  the 
retention  of  the  u. 

Saviour,  as  the  synonym  of 
Christ,  retains  the  u  in  all  dic- 
tionaries but  that  of  Webster. 


' '  Aiming  to  write  according  to 
the  best  usage  of  the  present 
day,  I  insert  the  u  in  so  many 
of  these  words  as  now  seem 
most  familiar  to  the  eye  when 
so  written.  ...  If  this  book 
should  ever,  by  any  good  for- 
tune, happen  to  be  reprinted, 
after  honour,  labour,  favour,  be- 
haviour, and  endeavour  shall 
have  become  as  unfashionable 
as  authour,  errour,  terrour,  and 
emperour  are  now,  let  the  proof- 
reader strike  out  the  useless 
letter  not  only  from  these  words, 
but  from  all  others  which  shall 
bear  an  equally  antiquated  ap- 
pearance." Goold  Brown's  Gram- 
mar of  English  Grammars,  p.  197. 


30 


Words  ending  in  -ize 


WORDS   ENDING   IN  -IZE 


aggrandize 

extemporize 

philosophize 

agonize 

familiarize 

plagiarize 

anatomize 

fertilize 

polarize 

anglicize 

fraternize 

pulverize 

apologize 

galvanize 

realize 

apostrophize 

generalize 

recognize 

apprize  (to  ap- 

gormandize 

reorganize 

praise) 

harmonize 

revolutionize 

authorize 

immortalize 

satirize 

baptize 

jeopardize 

scandalize 

brutalize 

localize 

scrutinize 

canonize 

magnetize 

secularize 

catechize 

memorialize 

signalize 

cauterize 

mesmerize 

solemnize 

centralize 

metamorphize 

soliloquize 

characterize 

methodize 

spiritualize 

civilize 

modernize 

stigmatize 

colonize 

monopolize 

syllogize 

criticize 

moralize 

symbolize 

crystallize 

nationalize 

sympathize 

demoralize 

naturalize 

tantalize 

dogmatize 

neutralize 

temporize 

economize 

organize 

tranquillize 

epitomize 

ostracize 

tyrannize 

equalize 

oxidize 

universalize 

eulogize 

paralyze 

utilize 

evangelize 

particularize 

vocalize 

exorcize 

patronize 

vulgarize 

Reformed  spelling  31 

In  the  New  English  (Oxford)  Dictionary  all  the 
words  that  end  in  -ment  retain  the  e  in  the  pre- 
ceding syllable,  as  abridgement,  acknowledgement, 
judgement.  In  other  English  and  in  all  American 
dictionaries  the  e  is  dropped. 

Farther  is  generally  restricted  to  distance :  as, 
"thus  far,  and  no  farther,"  or  "farther  down  the 
river,"  etc.  Further  is  equivalent  to  additional, 
besides,  moreover :  as,  "  I  have  no  further  use  for 
him,"  "  further  consideration  of  the  matter." 


REFORMED   SPELLING 


Reformed  spelling,  so  called,  is  seldom  presented 
in  copy,  but  when  so  used  by  a  writer  it  may  be 
queried  by  the  compositor :  if  he  finds  in  his  copy 
hav  for  have,  thru  for  through,  fonografy  for 
phonography,  and  other  spellings  of  like  nature, 
shall  he  spell  the  words  as  written  ?  When  the 
writer  of  these  spellings  orders  and  pays  for  the 
printing,  his  spelling  must  be  followed  without 
question;  but  when  this  reformed  spelling  ap- 
pears in  a  contribution  to  a  periodical,  and  the 
printing  is  done  at  the  expense  of  the  publisher, 
that  publisher  or  his  editor  has  the  right  to  deter- 
mine the  spelling.  This  determination  should  be 

l  The  American  Philological  list  of  amended  spellings.  This 
Association  has  published  (in  list  is  reprinted,  with  some  slight 
Transactions,  1886,  and  in  the  corrections,  in  the  Century  die- 
periodical  Spelling  of  1887)  a  tionary  (vol.  viii). 


32  Illiterate  spelling 

made  before  the  copy  goes  to  the  compositor,  and 
should  be  expressed  in  writing  on  the  first  page. 


ILLITERATE  SPELLING 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  and  say  when  copy 
should,  and  when  it  should  not,  be  faithfully  fol- 
lowed. Properly  considered,  it  is  an  act  of  kindness 
when  the  compositor  throws  a  mantle  of  correct 
composition  over  a  writer's  indecent  exposure  of 
his  bad  spelling  and  writing,  but  he  always  does  it 
at  a  risk.  As  a  rule,  the  ignorant  writer  is  tena- 
cious about  his  spelling  and  expression  of  thought. 
Editors  of  newspapers  frequently  take  malicious 
pleasure  in  printing  a  fault-finding  communica- 
tion exactly  as  it  was  written,  and  always  to  the 
writer's  mortification.  There  are  sent  to  news- 
papers communications  of  such  delightful  absurdity 
that  it  seems  unwise  and  really  foolish  to  attempt 
betterments  that  destroy  their  peculiarities.1 

i  From  Cornwall,  England :  begs  to  tell  'ee  that  I  have  just 

"  R.    G ,    Surgin,    Parish  begiimed  to  sell  all  zorts  of  sta- 

Clark  and  Skule-master,  Groser  tionary  ware,  cox,  hens,  vowls. 

and    Hundertaker,    respectably  pigs    and    all    other    kinds    of 

informs  ladys    and    gentlemen  poultry.    I   as   also    laid   in    a 

that  he  drors  teeth  without  wate-  large  azzortment  of  trype,  dog's 

ing  a  minut,  applies  laches  every  mate,  lolipops,  ginger-beer  and 

hour,    blisters    on    the    lowest  matches,  and  other  pikkels,  such 

terms,  and  visicks  for  a  penny  as  hepson   salts,   hoysters   and 

apece.    As  times  is  crul  bad  I  winzer  sope." 


II 


ABBREVIATIONS 


CLIPPED  WORDS  are  as  old  as  writ- 
ing. They  were  stamped  on  coins  and 
medals  and  cut  in  stone  or  pressed  on 
bricks  long  before  Genesis  was  written. 
Medieval  books  are  full  of  them.  The 
practice  began  with  the  copyists  who  wished  to  put 
many  words  in  a  small  space,  as  well  as  to  lighten 
their  own  labor,  but  it  was  carried  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  books,  then  made  were  hard  to  read,1  and 
scholars  everywhere  complained  of  their  obscurity. 
Books  had  to  be  published  to  explain  their  intent. 


l  Chevillier  (1'Origine  de  1'im- 
primerie  de  Paris,  etc.,  p.  Ill, 
4to,  Paris,  1595)  specifies  an  edi- 
tion of  the  Logic  of  Ockham, 
printed  in  that  city  in  1488,  in 
which  he  found  this  mysterious 
statement.  He  says  it  was  se- 
lected at  hazard :  Sic  hie  e  f  al  sm 


qd  ad  simplr  a  e  pducibile  a  Deo 
g  a  e  &  silr  hie  a  n  e  ga  n  e  pduci- 
bile a  Deo.  These  are  the  abbre- 
viations for  Sicut  hie  est  fallacia 
secundum  quid  ad  simpliciter. 
A  est  producibile  a  Deo.  Ergo  A 
est.  Et  similiter  hie.  A  non  est. 
Ergo  Anon  est  producibile  a  Deo. 


34     Abbreviations  of  the  fifteenth  century 

f  ubioftu.  g-aps  wait*  Ad  ara  id  og 
pora  d?"qj  mfci  Ifatt  S!  gitiint  iudeos 
pcepunt  i-tpe  xpi  ,p$  de  aatanftelcni 
chora?  &  ganwek.ufl  Icxde  pridpib? 
ffif  ti  cfedrderot  ia  e«, 
c  pf  itcbaat  nc  extr 


!o,  Scot/.fup  qfodr.fi 


From  Doctor  John  Scott's  Commentary  on  the  Four  Books 
of  Sentences.  Part  of  the  last  paragraph  and  colophon. 
Printed  by  Windelin  of  Speyer,  Venice,  1475. 

0uero.jCjttj.4d  ccdcra  an  fiii^rabdho  pof 
fit  pficerc  mftf  m  p  pzc.  D^nus  tractat  bac 
qonc  in.l.  fiTno.ff.Dc  auc.  cu.  2.  l.«?d  Dicim* 
$.  j.e.ri.^ar.  m.l.p:  .DC  faUt.1.4  rdhmcta 
$.f  ,oc  rcfta.'Beriras  eg?  ftli9  cmaapatppc 
l.fiU9cmaapat^.tn  f)n.ff.t)c  faL  films  it 
in  prate  pz  ts  no  p  t.  I.DC  eo.in  f>n.  ff.codc. 

Oucro  vltimo  nfi^d  frater  pofHt  pficcrc 
mftrinp  frarrc.*Rndeo  ft  furamboinptate 


emfdcpas  no  pt  t)c  rcq  p:i  qnf.l.tJc^pua. 
fn^fi.ff.ocfal.  f$  fi  fuccmiapacipor.  ar.l, 


finit  hber  plnrimof  tracramu  iu  ri  im  I 
2lnno  t>fti. 


From  the  Modus  Legendi  Abbreviaturas,  etc.  Two  para- 
graphs and  the  colophon  on  its  last  page.  Printed  by 
Martin  Flach,  Strasburg,  1499. 


Abbreviations  of  the  seventeenth  century    35 

The  facsimiles  on  the  previous  page,  from  two 
books  of  the  fifteenth  century,  are  fair  exhibits  of 
the  frequency  of  early  abbreviations. 

When  books  in  roman  type  were  printed  in  the 
sixteenth  century  for  the  unschooled  reader,  the 
abbreviations  were  used  sparingly,  but  they  were 
not  entirely  under  ban  in  descriptive  writing  even 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  They  might  have  been 
frequent  in  print  if  compositors  could  have  put 
them  in  diminutive  letters  and  on  a  higher  line  as 
readily  as  the  writer  of  the  manuscript,  but  the 
selection  and  adjustment  of  small  type  in  the  text 
made  composition  more  difficult.  When  the  pub- 
lisher found  that  this  use  of  small  type  delayed 
work  and  increased  cost,  abbreviating  with  small 

A  Letter  from  Robert  Scott,  the  London  Agent  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Marshall,  to  Samuel  Clarice,  concerning  Type-metal  for  the 
Clarendon  Press. 

These  for  Mr  Clerke  att  his  house  in 
Holy  Well  in  Oxford. 

Octob'  29th:  1668. 
Mr  Clerke 

I  haue  rec'  both  yor  lett*5  &  had  sooner  giuen  you 
answer  :  butt  y*  I  was  out  of  towne  ;  now  first  for 
Mr  Lee,  I  find  hee  is  willing  to  Comply  in  all  y1  ye 
Vniuersity  hath  desired  &  will  shortley  giue  mee  some 
letters  wch  shall  bee  as  a  Standard  for  ye  mettall,  .  .  . 
this  is  all  att  p'sent  from  Sr 

Yor  Seru*  to  Comand 

Robert  Scott. 

From  Notes  on  a  Century  of  Typography  at  the  University 
Press,  Oxford,  1693-1794,  etc.  (Horace  Hart,  1900),  p.  155. 


36     Abbreviations  of  the  eighteenth  century 

Baskett  the  patentee  for  bible-printing  in  Engl.  having 
befides  obtained  a  leafe  of  their  printing- houfe  from  the 
Univ.  of  Oxf.  and  having  alfo  as  he  thought  fecured  the 
printing-h.  at  Edinburgh,  immediately  levied  upon  the 
populace  an  advance  of  ^60  p  cent,  on  bibles  and  comm. 
pr.  books,  raifing  an  enormous  tax  upon  the  people  for 
reading  thefcriptures,  and  for  learning  to  "pray  by  rote 
upon  the  book.'"  and  this  is  what  is  called  religion. 
he  impofed  upon  the  fimple  folk  at  his  own  price  books 
printed  on  bad  paper  and  worfe  letter. — for  \\d.  the 
duty  charged  by  government  on  a  ream  of  paper  be 
charged  to  the  people  1 1  s.  fo  they  were  taxed  this  way  and 
that  way,  yet  the  affigns  of  Mofes  had  no  part  of  the  gains. 
More  moderate  were  The  Comp.  of  S  tat.  who  for  the 
additional  id.  charged  upon  almanacs  charged  to  the 
people  no  more  than  ^d. —  fuch  are  the  efFefts  of  charters 
and  patents  granted  to  leeches,  and  to  fuch  leaches  only 
be  they  granted  as  to  Rock  and  others  who  are  panders 
for  the  devil.  —  but  why  are  the  people  fuch  fools? — 
comm.  prayer  and  fcripture  they  may  have  for  their  tytbes. 
— for  almanacs  they  may  revive  The  clogg, — or  there  is 
a  vagabond  Ifraelite  who  fells  "Perpetual almanacs  that 
lafts  for  ever." 

From  Mores's  English  Typographical  Founders  and 
Founderies  (London,  1778),  p.  79. 

type  had  to  give  way  to  the  cheaper  method  of 
using  text  type  only,  and  of  shortening  the  word 
with  period  or  apostrophe.  In  account-books  and 
epistolary  writing  abbreviations  of  w'd  for  would, 
w'h  for  which,  ye  for  the,  hon'ble  for  honorable, 
judgm'*  for  judgment,  and  gents,  for  gentlemen, 
were  common.  Although  tolerated  in  some  printed 
books  after  the  year  1800,  they  are  now  regarded 


Proper  and  improper  use  of  abbreviations  37 

as  evidences  of  laziness  or  illiteracy.  The  rule  is 
inflexible  that  words  must  be  in  full  in  all  places 
where  space  permits.1  In  formal  legal  documents, 
and  even  in  brief  notes  or  cards  printed  or  written 
for  occasions  of  ceremony,  the  number  of  the  year 
and  the  day  of  the  month  must  be  spelled  out  in 
full.  In  almanacs,  arithmetics,  dictionaries,  gazet- 
teers, and  technical  books  of  like  nature,  abbrevia- 
tions are  not  a  fault  but  a  positive  merit  where 
they  save  needed  space.  In  treatises  on  botany, 
chemistry,  or  algebra  and  the  higher  mathematics, 
signs,  symbols,  and  abbreviations  are  most  helpful 
to  the  student.  To  print  words  in  full  would  be  a 
hindrance,  especially  so  when  it  would  prevent  the 
neat  arrangement  of  figures  in  columns  and  tables 
that  makes  the  subject-matter  clear  at  a  glance. 


PROPER  AND   IMPROPER  USE 

The  compositor  finds  it  perplexing  to  make  or  to 
follow  fixed  rules  for  the  proper  use  of  abbrevia- 
tions. The  method  that  is  suitable  for  the  foot- 
notes of  a  history  is  not  becoming  for  its  text. 
Contractions  permissible  and  commendable  in  the 
narrow  columns  of  tabular  work  are  not  allowed 
in  the  descriptive  text  of  a  book.  There  must  be 
dissimilar  methods  for  the  different  forms  of  com- 

i  These  remarks  apply  to  de-  to  foot-notes  or  narrow  columns 
scriptive  writing  in  the  text  of  a  in  which  abbreviations  are  some- 
book  or  magazine,  but  not  at  all  times  obligatory. 
3 


38  Permissible  abbreviations 

position  frequently  required,  and  the  compositor 
should  not  be  required  to  determine  the  method. 

The  line  between  a  proper  and  an  improper  use 
can  be  most  satisfactorily  drawn  by  the  author, 
who  should  not  abbreviate  any  word  in  his  copy 
which  he  intends  shall  be  printed  at  full  length. 
Even  the  abbreviations  for  foot-  or  for  side-notes 
should  also  be  written  exactly  as  they  are  to  ap- 
pear in  that  note.  When  these  notes  are  extracts 
from  or  citations  of  authors  who  write  in  a  foreign 
language,  too  much  care  cannot  be  given  to  dis- 
tinctness of  writing.  The  compositor  cannot  spell 
out  or  contract  technical  words  that  he  does  not 
understand,  or  put  points,  italic,  and  capitals  in 
proper  places  unless  they  are  so  marked  in  copy. 

For  the  ordinary  descriptive  text  the  rule  to 
avoid  abbreviations  is  now  generally  obeyed.  No 
form  of  carelessness  in  writing,  not  even  the  mis- 
use of  capitals  and  italic,  so  plainly  indicates  the 
undisciplined  writer  as  the  abuse  of  abbreviations. 
Cobbett  has  stigmatized  them  as  plain  indications 
of  slovenliness  and  vulgarity. 

PERMISSIBLE  ABBREVIATIONS 

Acceptable  abbreviations  in  the  text  of  a  book  are 
not  numerous.  Mr.,  Mrs.,  Messrs.,  Hon.,  Right 
Hon.,  Jr.,  Sr.  (or  Jun.,  Sen.),  Esq.,  Rev.,  and 
Right  Rev.  are  tolerated  in  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines, and  even  in  some  books,  but  it  is  more  deco- 


Abbreviations  of  time  and  date          39 

rous  to  spell  out  all  the  words  in  the  preceding 
list  except  Mr.,  Mrs.,  Messrs.,  Jr.,  and  Sr.  Doctor 
and  Professor  should  always  be  spelled  out.  In 
newspapers  Gen.,  Capt.,  Col.,  and  Maj.  are  some- 
times allowed,  but  in  book-work  these  titles  should 
be  in  full,  as  General,  Captain,  Colonel,  and  Major. 
When  the  title  is  double  and  is  connected  with  a 
hyphen,  as  in  Major-general  or  Lieutenant-colonel, 
the  first  word  takes  the  capital  letter.  The  same 
ruling  should  be  applied  to  Ex-governor  or  Ex- 
senator. 


ABBREVIATIONS  OF  TIME  AND   DATE 

Ante  meridiem  and  post  meridiem  are  frequently 
presented  in  the  small  capitals  A.M.  and  P.M.  with- 
out a  separating  space,  but  it  is  now  a  commoner 
practice  to  make  use  of  lower-case  letters  for  a.m. 
and  p.m.,  as  is  here  shown. 

The  abbreviations  inst.,  prox.,  and  ult.,  which 
are  usual  in  correspondence  and  commercial  work, 
are  entirely  improper  in  the  texts  of  books.  The 
name  of  the  month  should  be  in  full.  The  days 
of  the  week  and  the  name  of  the  month  may  be 
abbreviated  in  the  narrow  columns  of  a  table,  but 
never  in  any  place  where  there  is  full  space. 

The  names  of  months  and  days  should  always  be 
in  full  in  the  text  of  a  standard  book.  In  the  nar- 
row measure  of  a  side-note  and  elsewhere  they  may 
be  abbreviated,  as  is  shown  on  the  next  page. 


40      Abbreviations  of  names  and  epochs 

Jan.  Aug.  Dec.  Wed. 

Feb.  Sept,  Sun.  Thurs. 

Mch.  Oct.  Mon.  Fri. 

Apl.  Nov.  Tues.  Sat. 

Mch.  and  Apl.  are  quite  unsightly.    June  and  July 
cannot  be  abbreviated  with  distinctness. 

When  dates  are  used,  2d  or  3d  may  be  allowed 
in  places  where  2nd  and  3rd  are  objectionable. 
(See  chapter  on  Figures  and  Numerals.) 


ABBREVIATIONS  OF  NAMES  AND  EPOCHS 

The  printed  abbreviation  of  the  baptismal  proper 
name  is  permissible,  and  indeed  obligatory,  when 
used  for  a  signature  intended  to  show  autographic 
peculiarity  in  the  abbreviated  form  preferred  by 
the  signer,  as  in  Jas.,  Chas.,  Thos.,  Wm.,  etc.; 
but  when  this  name  appears  in  the  text,  and  not 
as  a  signature,  it  should  be  in  full.  Abbreviation 
of  the  baptismal  name  or  names,  or  the  use  of  the 
initial  letter  or  letters,  is  permissible  also  in  all 
pamphlets  where  many  names  have  to  appear  in  a 
narrow  column. 

Some  liberties  are  taken  by  writers  in  the  con- 
traction of  names  like  Ja's,  Wm,  Cha's,  and 
Tho's,  but  they,,  make  unsightly  words  in  print, 
and  fully  justify  the  proof-reader  in  reminding  the 
writer  that  Jas.,  Wm.,  Chas.,  and  Thos.  are  forms 
more  approved. 


Abbreviations  for  epochs  41 

Nicknames  and  pet  names,  like  Bob,  Dick,  Jim, 
Tom,  and  Joe,  do  not  belong  to  the  class  of  abbre- 
viations, for  they  do  not  require  a  full  point  after 
the  last  letter;  but  Wm.,  Jas.,  Chas.,  and  Geo. 
are  rated  as  abbreviations  requiring  a  full  point. 
The  pet  names  may  appear  in  the  text  of  a  book 
as  here  printed,  but  clipped  names  like  Wm.  and 
Geo.  should  there  appear  in  full  as  William  and 
George.  In  all  foot-  and  side-notes  the  initial  or 
initials  only  of  the  baptismal  name  or  names  of 
the  author  of  a  cited  book  may  be  inserted,  but 
this  name  should  be  printed  in  full  in  the  list  of 
authorities  or  in  the  index.  Formal  abbreviations 
of  anno  Domini,  anno  mundi,  anno  hejirae,  anno 
urbis  conditae,  and  before  Christ  are  made  with 
A.D.,  A.M.,  A.H.,  A.U.C.,  and  B.C.  For  this  purpose 
small  capitals  closely  set  are  preferred. 

Other  abbreviations,  like  e.g.  for  exempli  gratia, 
i.e.  for  id  est,  q.v.  for  quod  vide,  viz.  for  videlicet 
or  to  wit,  etc.  for  et  cetera,  are  frequently  put  in 
lower-case,  and,  when  composed  of  two  or  more 
abbreviated  words,  without  any  separating  space. 
They  have  a  grudged  tolerance  in  ordinary  books, 
but  careful  writers  avoid  them  in  their  texts,  even 
when  they  make  use  of  them  in  tables  and  foot- 
notes :  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  for  ex- 
ample will  be  so  written  for  the  text,  while  6  a.m. 
and  e.g.  will  be  substituted  for  the  foot-  or  side-note. 

Italic  is  frequently  but  not  always  wisely  used 
for  the  common  abbreviations  q.v.,  viz.,  e.g. 


42       When  the  ampersand  may  be  used 

MARKS   OF   REFERENCE 

The  seven  marks  of  reference  made  for  foot-notes 
*  f  J  ||  §  ^[  IG^  are  seldom  used  in  the 
best  books.  They  have  been  condemned  as  too 
few  for  many  notes  on  the  same  page,  as  well  as 
for  their  want  of  regularity.  Some  are  too  weak 
and  others  are  too  bold.  Superior  figures  and  let- 
ters1 are  preferred :  the  figures  for  the  texts  of  or- 
dinary books ;  the  letters  for  cut-in  notes  of  pocket 
Bibles,  and  for  other  notes  when  many  in  number. 

THE   AMPERSAND 

The  ampersand  &  is  proper  for  the  exact  rendering 
of  the  signature  or  the  authorized  business  name 
of  a  firm  of  copartners  or  a  corporation,  as  in 
R.  Hoe  &  Co.  or  New  York  &  Harlem  Railroad  Co. 
It  is  in  this  form  that  such  names  are  used  in  news- 
papers and  pamphlets,  and  even  in  ordinary  books. 
When  many  firm  names  are  printed  in  a  column, 
as  in  signatures,  the  &  and  the  Co.  should  be  re- 
tained as  the  true  copy  of  each  signature.2 

1  The  letters  are  also  used  as  2  Sortie  publishers  and  authors 

signs  or  symbols  in  text-books  of  require  that  they  shall  appear  in 

sciences  to  refer  to  many  differ-  a  standard  book  as  R.  Hoe  and 

ent  things.    In  music  and  geom-  Company    and   New  York   and 

etry,  roman  capital  letters  are  Harlem  Railroad  Company.     It 

preferred ;  in  algebra,  lower-case  is,  however,  impossible  here  to 

italic    letters ;     in    astronomy,  draw   a  line  of  distinction  be- 

lower-case  Greek  characters ;  in  tween    the    ordinary    and    the 

-chemistry,  capitals,  figures,  and  standard  book.    The  compositor 

lower-case  combined.  should  follow  his  copy. 


Abbreviations  of  companies  and  titles    43 

The  ampersand  is  occasionally  found  in  the  lead- 
ing line  of  display  in  the  title-pages  of  fine  English 
books,  but  this  use  of  &  is  rare  in  America.  Why 
&  should  be  forbidden  in  the  text  and  allowed  in 
the  title-page  has  never  been  explained. 

ABBREVIATIONS   OF  COMPANIES   AND   TITLES 

The  abbreviation  Co.,  as  in  The  Century  Co.,  must 
be  so  used  when  it  is  the  company's  approved  form 
of  imprint  and  signature.  The  compositor  should 
not  spell  out  Co.  as  Company  in  the  official  docu- 
ment of  any  company  without  a  distinct  order  to 
that  effect.  When  the  firm  name  is  to  be  set  in  all 
capital  letters,  the  final  o  in  Co.  should  not  be  in 
lower-case,  and  the  same  method  should  be  ob- 
served with  Jr.  and  Sr.,  or  Jun.  and  Sen. : 

THE  CENTURY  Co.  THE  CENTURY  CO. 

JOHN  BROWN,  Jr.  JOHN  BROWN,  JR. 

PAUL  SMITH,  Sr.  PAUL  SMITH,  SR. 

Incorrect  Correct 

The  spelling  out  of  abbreviations  should  be  con- 
fined to  all  writings  that  have  been  carelessly  pre- 
pared, not  with  intent,  but  through  inadvertence  or 
thoughtlessness.  Extracts,  quotations,  and  docu- 
ments inserted  in  any  text  should  be  faithfully 
copied,  with  all  their  faults.  Without  special  order, 
the  compositor  should  not  try  to  amend,  in  the  copy 
of  an  educated  writer,  any  supposed  fault  in  spell- 


44    Abbreviations  of  companies  and  titles 

ing,  abbreviation,  or  punctuation,  or  in  the  use  of 
italic.  Yet  the  compositor  is  often  requested  to 
amend  the  grosser  faults  of  an  illiterate  or  care- 
less writer.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  define  where 
the  amendment  should  begin  or  end.  Faults  of 
writing  often  convey  to  the  reader  a  clearer  notion 
of  the  style  and  mental  status  of  the  writer  than 
can  be  gathered  from  his  words  properly  rendered. 
Abbreviations  of  honorary  titles,  as  A.M.,  M.D., 
LL.D.,  and  D.D.,  are  usually  put  in  capitals  when 
they  are  appended  to  a  name  in  the  text  composed 
almost  entirety  of  lower-case  letters.  When  the 
abbreviations  of  many  titles  are  added  to  the  name, 
as  in 

John  Robinson,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  K.C.B., 

the  absurdity  of  capitalizing  the  abbreviations  of 
titles  and  making  them  more  prominent  than  the 
name  becomes  painfully  conspicuous.  Despite  the 
absurdity,  this  use  of  capitals  for  abbreviated  titles 
in  the  text  is  made  imperative  in  many  offices. 
When  the  small  capitals  of  the  text  letter  have  a 
little  more  prominence  than  the  lower-case  letters 
(which  they  seldom  have),  the  small  capitals  will 
be  found  a  more  pleasing  substitute. 

In  the  title-pages  of  books  a  contrary  practice 
prevails.  When  the  name  of  the  author  has  many 
letters,  and  the  honorary  titles  are  many,  these 
honorary  titles  are  sometimes  made  smaller  than 
the  name  by  being  put  in  small  capitals.  This 


Scientific  signs  and  terminology         45 

makes  a  crooked  or  unbalanced  line  of  display. 
When  honorary  titles  are  numerous  it  is  the  usual 
practice  to  put  them  in  one  or  more  lines  of  small 
capitals  or  small  lower-case  below  the  name. 

ABBREVIATIONS   THAT  CONFUSE 

Abbreviations  may  make  confusion.  The  initials 
A.M.  are  abbreviations  of  three  distinct  phrases : 
master  of  arts,  in  the  year  of  the  world,  and  before 
noon.  Dr.  stands  for  doctor  and  debtor;  P.M., 
for  postmaster  and  afternoon.  As  a  rule,  the  con- 
text prevents  misunderstanding,  but  abbreviations 
are  sometimes  used  which  cannot  be  explained  by 
the  context.  What  is  worse,  a  short  word  may  be 
misunderstood  as  an  abbreviation.1 

SCIENTIFIC  SIGNS  AND  TERMINOLOGY 

The  abbreviations  oftenest  used  are  to  be  found 
in  the  dictionaries ;  but  for  the  abbreviations  used 
in  works  on  chemistry,  botany,  medicine,  mathe- 
matics, and  other  sciences,  in  which  they  are  some- 
times conjoined  with  signs,  an  approved  modern 
text-book  of  these  sciences  is  the  only  safe  authority. 

l  The  cataloguer  at  times  puts  title  of  a  celebrated  picture  as 

the  compositor  to  shame.    In  an  Jupiter  and  10.     To  him  the  10 

English  catalogue  appears  this  was  quite  a  plausible  reading  of 

entry  of  Talfourd's  Ion :  the  lo  who  was  one  of  Jupiter's 

Talfourd.    One  on,  a  Tragedy,  numerous  loves.      I  have  seen 

The  reader  may  here  recollect  Jupiter  and  lo  rendered  in  print 

Saxe's  ignoramus,  who  read  the  as  Jupiter  and  Jo. 


46     Mathematical  and  astronomical  signs 


MATHEMATICAL   SIGNS 


-f  plus 
-  minus 

X    multiplied  by 
±  or  ^  plus  or  minus 
-f-  divided  by 
=   equal  to 
>  greater  than 
<  less  than 
/  difference  between 
OC   proportioned  to 
00  indefinitely  more 
0    indefinitely  less 
Z    angle 
L    right  angle 
_L  perpendicular 
||    parallel 
^    equiangular 
O   full  circle  or  360° 
o   arc  of  circle 
CD  rectangle 


d" 


A    triangle 

a    square 

:  and  ' '  signs  of  geo- 
metrical propor- 
tion, as  in 
A:B::  C:D 

..  minus,  the  sign  of 
mathematical  pro- 
portion 

::  equal  to,  in  arith- 
metical proportion 

.*.  therefore 

Y  because 

<Y/  root  or  radical 
-  vinculum 
|    bar 

A   finite  difference 

0   degree  of  circle 
minute  of  circle 

"    second  of  circle 


PLANETS 
Sun 

Mercury 
Venus 
Earth 
Mars 
Jupiter 
Saturn 


ASTRONOMICAL  SIGNS 

Q  Uranus 


tj?  Neptune 

PHASES 

®  new  moon 
^   first  quarter 
©  full  moon 
€    last  quarter 


Commercial  and  apothecaries'  signs      47 


ZODIACAL 


T  Aries,  the  ram 
8   Taurus,  the  bull 
IT  Gemini,  the  twins 
5>  Cancer,  the  crab 
ol  Leo,  the  lion 
HE  Virgo,  the  virgin 


—  Libra,  the  scales 
fl  Scorpio,  scorpion 
t  Sagittarius,  archer 
V3  Capricornus,goat 
~  Aquarius,waterman 
^  Pisces,  the  fishes 


ASPECTS  AND  NODES 


6  conjunction 

a  quadrature 

Q  ascending  node 

g  descending  node 


8   opposition 
<[  or  O  quintile 
*  sextile 
A  trine 


COMMERCIAL  SIGNS 


'S  at  or  to 

%  account 

$  dollar 

F  per 
ft  pound 
%  per  cent. 

%  care  of 
0  degree 
'    minute 

^  cent 
£  pound 
/  shilling 

APOTHECARIES'   SIGNS 


I£  recipe 
a  or  aa  of  each 
same  quantity 


ft  pound 
0  pint 
n\  drop 


%   ounce 
3   drachm 
9  scruple 


Quantities  are  always  written  in  lower-case  letters. 
If  the  quantity  expressed  ends  with  i,  the  final  i  is 
made  as  j,  as  in  vij,  which  represents  seven. 


48          Signs  used  in  books  of  devotion 

The  abbreviation  lb.  may  properly  be  selected  for 
pounds,  but  some  dictionaries  sanction  tbs. 

The  abbreviations  that  appear  in  newspapers  for 
reports  of  markets  and  of  sales  of  stocks  and  bonds 
at  the  stock  exchange,  for  horse-racing,  base-ball, 
and  aquatic  sports,  as  well  as  many  used  in  the 
catalogues  of  booksellers,  auctioneers,  and  manu- 
facturers, are  not  to  be  found  in  any  dictionary. 
Some  of  them  soon  go  out  of  use  and  are  forgot- 
ten, but  others  stay  and  ultimately  find  a  place  in 
proper  text-books.  In  the  absence  of  printed  au- 
thority, the  proof-reader  should  make  up  a  manu- 
script book  of  the  unlisted  abbreviations  he  has  to 
use  repeatedly.  Without  this  guide  he  may  pass 
abbreviations  of  the  same  word  in  two  forms. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  SIGNS 

»J«  The  Maltese  cross  is  used  before  their  signa- 
tures by  certain  dignitaries  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  It  is  also  used  in  the  service-books  of 
that  church  to  notify  the  reader  when  to  make  the 
sign  of  the  cross.  The  ordinary  reference-mark  f 
(the  dagger)  should  not  be  used  as  a  substitute. 

^  The  Latin  cross. 

X  St.  Andrew's  cross. 

Be  Response  in  service-books.  The  apothecaries' 
sign  5,  is  not  an  entirely  acceptable  substitute. 

Y  Versicle  in  service-books. 

^c  indicates  the  words  intoned  by  the  celebrant. 


Abbreviations  of  Latin,  new  and  old      49 

ABBREVIATION  OF  LATIN  WORDS 

A  printer  is  seldom  asked  to  abbreviate  long  words. 
If  so  required,  to  maintain  uniformity  in  column 
matter,  the  abbreviations  made,  especially  in  Latin 
words,  should  end  preferably  on  a  consonant,  as 
mere.  cor.  for  mercurius  corrosivus. 

Many  Latin  words,  as  pro  tempore  and  per  cen- 
tum, have  been  incorporated  in  the  English  lan- 
guage in  their  abbreviated  forms  pro  tern,  and 
per  cent.  They  do  not  really  need  the  abbrevi- 
ating period,  but  if  the  author  systematically  uses 
the  period  the  compositor  must  follow  his  method. 
They  need  not  be  in  italic. 

Medieval  copyists  made  many  abbreviations,  but 
few  of  them  have  been  reproduced  by  American 
type-founders,  and  those  mainly  for  bodies  of  ten- 
eleven-  and  twelve-point  roman.  The  few  made 
and  most  used  are  c^  for  cujus ;  n  for  non ;  p  for 
per,  por,  par ;  q  for  qui ;  q  for  quod  5  qj  for  que ; 
£  for  rum ;  3  for  et.1  Made  with  many  variations 
by  different  copyists  and  different  printers,  they 
were  hard  to  decipher  even  in  their  own  time.  They 
are  used  now  mainly  by  librarians  for  the  exact 
rendering  of  the  colophons  or  titles  of  old  books. 

i  An  apparently  full  list,  yet  Latin  abbreviations,  amounting 

incomplete,  is  given  in  Savage's  to  more  than  thirteen  thousand 

Dictionary  of  the  Art  of  Print-  words,  has  been  made  by  Adriano 

ing  (8vo,  London,  1841),  under  Capelli  in  his  Dizionario  di  Ab- 

the  subheading  of  Records.    A  breviature    Latine    ed   Italiane 

much  more  complete  list  of  the  (16mo,  Milan,  1899). 


50       Abbreviations  of  dialect  and  slang 

DIALECT  AND   SLANG 

Dialect,  slang,  and  colloquialisms  are  considered 
of  value  in  giving  piquancy  to  a  story  or  novel, 
and  each  writer  has  a  method  of  his  own  which  the 
compositor  must  follow.  When  he  can  do  so,  and 
the  author  permits,  he  should  make  one  word  of 
all  colloquial  clippings  of  speech,  as  ain't  or  hain't, 
don't,  won't,  can't,  shan't,  putting  no  space 
between  the  words  and  using  the  apostrophe  in 
place  of  the  cancelled  letter.  Ain't  and  are  n't 
are  of  bad  form,  but  permissible  as  exhibits  of  vul- 
garisms. According  to  rule,  shan't  should  have 
two  apostrophes  (one  for  the  elision  in  shall,  and 
one  for  that  in  not),  but  two  apostrophes  in  one 
short  word  are  unsightly,  and  one  is  customary. 

I  've,  you  '11,  't  was,  't  was  n't,  't  is,  't  is  n't, 
etc.,  are  more  clearly  expressed  when  a  thin  space 
is  put  between  the  words,  but  in  some  printing- 
houses  this  space  is  often  omitted  by  order. 

'  I've  forgotten  the  countersign,'  sez  'e. 

'  Oh !    You  'ave,  'ave  you ? '  sez  I. 

'  But  I  'm  the  Colonel,'  sez  'e. 

'  Oh !    You  are,  are  you  ? '  sez  I. 

'  Colonel  nor  no  Colonel,  you  waits  'ere  till  I  'm 
relieved,  an'  the  Sarjint  reports  on  your  ugly  old 
mug.  Coop ! '  sez  I.  ...  An'  s'elp  me  soul,  't  was 
the  Colonel  after  all !  Kipling. 

The  Century  dictionary  prefers  a  thin  space  before 
the  apostrophe  when  is  or  has  is  clipped  to  's, 


Old-style  contractions  of  words          51 

but  the  space  should  be  thinner  than  that  between 
other  words  in  that  line,  as : 

It 's  true,  the  man 's  thoroughly  exhausted. 
He 's  arrived  by  the  Empire  State  Express. 

The  thinner  space  is  intended  to  show  that  the 
short  form  of  is  or  has  should  not  be  confounded 
with  the  possessive  form  of  the  pronouns. 

The  man's  services  were  appreciated. 
It 's  the  New  York  Central's  fastest  train. 

Dialect  matter,  for  which  there  can  be  no  good 
authority  but  that  of  the  author,  should  be  spelled 
as  written,  even  when  the  same  word  is  abbrevi- 
ated or  contracted  in  different  ways.  It  is  unwise 
to  attempt  uniformity  without  a  written  code  or 
permission  from  the  author. 

OLD-STYLE  CONTRACTIONS 

Quotations  from  obsolete  authors,  or  reprints  of 
old  books  or  documents,  or  illustrative  letters  by 
illiterate  people,  should  be  accurate  copies  of  the 
originals.  Every  fault  of  bad  spelling,  or  misuse 
of  capitals  or  italic,  should  be  faithfully  repeated 
to  the  minutest  particular,  so  far  as  the  types  will 
allow.  Old-style  abbreviations  with  superior  letters, 
such  as  wd,  wh,  ye,  etc.,  are  troublesome,  and  may 
lead  to  the  dropping  out  of  a  superior  letter  which 
cannot  be  justified  securely ;  but  they  must  be  re- 
peated unless  a  distinct  order  is  given  to  spell  out. 


52  Indefensible  abbreviations 

SOME  INDEFENSIBLE   ABBREVIATIONS 

When  a  sentence  begins  with  the  specification  of  a 
number,  the  spelled-out  form  should  always  be  used, 
even  if  arabic  figures  are  made  to  serve  for  other 
numbers  in  the  same  paragraph  or  sentence.1 

Abbreviations  like  dept.  or  dep't,  gov't,  sec., 
sec'y,  or  sect'y,  pres't,  and  treas.  are  indefensible 
in  any  kind  of  pamphlet  work  or  job-work  when 
they  appear,  as  they  usually  do,  in  open  lines  with 
ample  space.  Even  in  hurried  job-work  abbrevia- 
tions like  these  are  damaging  to  the  reputation  of 
any  printing-house.  They  often  appear  in  the  en- 
graved headings  of  official  letter-paper  and  in  the 
display  lines  of  job-printers,  so  made  with  intent 
to  put  many  words  in  one  line  of  large  letters,  in 
places  where  the  words  would  have  been  clearer 
and  more  comely  in  two  lines  of  smaller  letters. 


1  This  rule  should  not  be  ap-  ure  1  and  Exempli  gratia  are  ac- 

plied  to  the  figures  that  specify  ceptable.    The  improper  use  of 

verses  in  the  Bible  or  in  hymn-  abbreviations  and  arabic  figures 

books,  which  are  not  followed  by  for  words  is  more  fully  set  forth 

a  period.    Nor  can  it  be  applied  in  the  chapter  on  Figures  and 

to  the  signs  H  and  §  which  are  Numerals.    The  exhibit  of  its  ab- 

sometimes  used  before  figures  surdity  here  appended  is  taken 

to  indicate  paragraphs  and  sec-  from  a  letter  to  the  Evening  Post 

tions.    Exception  also  may  be  of  New  York  City,  in  which  the 

made  for  the  figures  that  begin  writer  properly  burlesques  the 

the  short  sentences    under  an  carelessness  of    some  composi- 

illustration  and  that  explain  cor-  tors  and  proof-readers, 

responding  figures  in  that  illus-  ^  a  lea.,  Mz  a  lea., 

tration,   but  abbreviations  like  ^  a  lea.  onward  — 

Fig.  1  or  E.g.  at  the  beginning  of  All  in  the  valley  of  death 

a  foot-note  are  unsightly :  Fig-  Bode  the  600. 


Abbreviations  of  states,  etc. 


53 


USUAL  ABBREVIATIONS  FOR  STATES,   ETC. 

The  names  of  states  and  territories  frequently  have 
to  be  abbreviated  in  job-work,  and  in  gazetteers 
and  guide-books  where  space  must  be  economized, 
but  in  a  well-printed  book  Burlington,  Vermont, 
should  be  so  presented,  and  not  as  Burlington,  Vt. 


Alabama.    .    .     .  Ala. 
Arizona  ....  Ariz. 
Arkansas     .    .    .  Ark. 
California    .    .    .  Cal. 
Colorado      .     .    .  Colo. 
Connecticut     .    .  Conn. 
Delaware     .    .    .  Del. 
Florida    ....  Fla. 
Georgia  ....  Ga. 
Illinois    .    .    .    .  m. 
Indiana  ....  Ind. 
Indian  Territory.  I.T. 
Kansas    ....  Kan. 
Kentucky    .    .    .  Ky. 
Louisiana    .    .    .  La. 
Maryland     .    .    .  Md. 
Massachusetts.    .  Mass. 
Michigan     .    .     .  Mich. 
Minnesota   .    .     .  Minn. 
Mississippi  .     .     .  Miss. 
Missouri ....  Mo. 
Montana.  .  Mont. 


Nebraska    .    .    .  Neb. 
Nevada  ....  Nev. 
New  Hampshire .  N.H. 
New  Jersey    .    .  N. J. 
New  Mexico  .    .  N.M. 
New  York  .    .    .  N.Y. 
North  Carolina  .  N.C. 
North  Dakota    .  N.D. 
Oklahoma  .    .    .  Okla. 
Oregon  ....  Ore. 
Pennsylvania.    .  Pa. 
Rhode  Island.    .  R.I. 
South  Carolina  .  S.C. 
South  Dakota     .  S.D. 
Tennessee  .    .    .  Tenn. 
Texas     ....  Tex. 
Vermont    .     .     .  Vt. 
Virginia     .    .    .  Va. 
Washington   .     .  Wash. 
West  Virginia    .  W.Va. 
Wisconsin  .     .     .  Wis. 
Wyoming  .    .    .  Wyo. 


54          Abbreviations  of  sizes  of  books 

Maine,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Utah,  Alaska,  and  Idaho  are 
always  unwisely  abbreviated.  It  is  better  practice 
to  spell  out  Mississippi  and  Missouri  in  any  position 
where  there  is  full  space,  for  the  abbreviations 
Miss,  and  Mo.  are  not  sufficiently  distinct.  Penn. 
is  clearer  than  Pa.,  which  may  be  improperly  taken 
for  Philadelphia  as  well  as  for  Pennsylvania, 

ABBREVIATIONS  OF  SIZES  OF   BOOKS 

Ordinary  sizes  of  books  specified  as  in  folio,  quarto, 
octavo,  or  duodecimo  may  be  in  words.  For  the 
sizes  smaller  than  sextodecimo  words  in  Latin  or 
English  seem  pedantical.  Arabic  figures  convey  a 
clearer  notion  to  the  reader,  but  figures  cannot 
be  consistently  used,  for  there  is  no  approved  ab- 
breviation for  folio,  and  a  figure  has  an  unsightly 
appearance  when  it  appears,  as  it  often  does,  at 
the  beginning  of  a  sentence.  In  book-lists  4to, 
8vo,  16mo,  64mo,  and  other  compounds  are  tol- 
erated as  savers  of  space,  but  they  should  not  have 
the  abbreviating  period. 

BOOKS   OF  THE   BIBLE 
OLD   TESTAMENT 

Gen.  xi.  17  Deut.  1  Sam.  1  Chron. 

Exod.         *  Joshua  2  Sam.  2  Chron. 

Lev.  Judges  1  Kings  Ezra 

Num.  Ruth  2  Kings  Neh 


Authorities  cited  in  foot-notes 


55 


Esther 

Isa.                Joel                 Hab. 

Job 
Ps. 
Prov. 

Jer.                Amos              Zeph. 
Lam.              Obad.              Hag. 
Ezek.              Jonah              Zech. 

Eccles. 

Dan.               Mic.                  Mai. 

Song  of  Sol. 

Hos.               Nahum 

NEW  TESTAMENT 

Matt. 

2  Cor.             1  Tim.           2  Pet. 

Mark 

Gal.                 2  Tim.            1  John 

Luke 
John 

Eph.               Titus              2  John 
Phil.               Philem.          3  John 

Acts 

Col.                Heb.              Jude 

Rom. 

1  Thess.         Jas.                Rev. 

ICor. 

2  Thess.          1  Pet. 

APOCRYPHA 

1  Esdras 

Wisd.  of  Sol.         Susanna 

2  Esdras 
Tobit 

Ecclus.                   Bel  and  Dragon 
Baruch                  Pr.  of  Manasses 

Judith 
Rest  of  Esth. 

Song  of  Three       1  Mace. 
Childr.               2  Mace. 

FOOT-NOTES 

Authorities  cited  in  foot-notes  should  be  specified 
in  the  following  order : 

1  The  best-known  name  of  author.  The  initial 
or  initials  of  the  baptismal  name  to  be  given  only 
when  needed  to  identify  one  author  from  another 


56  Authorities  cited  in  foot-notes 

of  the  same  name.  Set  name  in  roman  lower-case 
only,  unless  otherwise  ordered.  The  use  of  small 
capitals  is  an  old  fashion,  and  is  lapsing  into  disuse. 

2  The  name  of  the  book  in  roman  lower-case, 
always  abbreviated  in  the  same  form.     The  full 
title,  with  all  its  words  spelled  out,  may  be  given 
in  the  list  of  authorities  at  the  end  of  the  book. 
Some  publishers  require  the  full  title  of  the  book 
to  be  inclosed  with  marks  of  quotation,  but  this 
formality  is  more  common  in  the  text,  and  is  un- 
necessary in  the  foot-note. 

3  The  number  of  the  volume  in  roman  numerals 
of  capital  letters.     When  the  small  capitals  of  the 
text  type  are  taller  than  the  round  letters  of  the 
lower-case,  small  capitals  should  be  preferred.     If 
the  small  capitals  are  not  tall,  or  if  condensed  and 
not  clear,  use  the  full  capitals.     The  period  may  be 
omitted.     (See  exhibits  of  notes  on  pages  58,  59.) 

4  The  number  of  the  page  in  arabic  figures. 
The  specification  of  the  edition  of  the  book  from 

which  the  citation  has  been  made  is  required  only 
when  two  or  more  editions  have  been  printed  with 
changes  in  paging  and  subject-matter.  If  the  edi- 
tion is  clearly  specified  in  the  list  of  authorities,  this 
information  need  not  be  repeated  in  the  foot-note. 
In  many  books  frequently  cited,  like  the  Bible, 
Shakspere,  Blackstone,  Homer,  or  Horace,  the  pas- 
sage quoted  cannot  be  specified  properly  by  giving 
the  number  of  volume  and  page,  for  there  are  too 
many  editions  in  different  form.  Book,  chapter, 


Abbreviations  for  citations  57 

and  verse,  section  and  paragraph,  or  canto,  stanza, 
and  line  must  be  specified.  This  cannot  be  done 
readily,  for  the  ordinary  font  of  text  type  has  not 
enough  characters  to  give  a  separate  distinction  to 
each  abbreviation.  The  following  abbreviations 
are  approved  and  used  by  the  Century  dictionary : 

Number  of  paragraph  only  ....  No.  68 

Stanza  only st.  18 

Page  only p.  213 

Line  only 1.  384 

Paragraph  only fl  34 

Section  only §  5 

Chapter  only xiv. 

Canto  only xiv. 

Book  only iii. 

Book  and  chapter  -\ 

Part  and  chapter   (  —  2 

Book  and  line        C 

Act  and  scene 

Act,  scene,  and  line iv.  3.  45 

Chapter  and  verse  ) 

Number  and  page  >      • II.  34 

Volume  and  page  ) 

Volume  and  chapter IV.  iv. 

Part,  book,  and  chapter II.  iv.  12 

Part,  canto,  and  stanza II.  iv.  12 

Chapter,  section,  paragraph ....  vii.  §  3,  fl  4 
Volume,  part,  section,  paragraph  .  I.  i.  §  2,  fl  6 
Book,  chapter,  section,  paragraph  .  I.  i.  §  2,  fl  6 


58  Abbreviations  in  foot-notes 

In  an  abbreviated  reference  to  the  Bible  or  to 
the  plays  of  Shakspere,  use  arabic  figures  instead 
of  roman  numerals  to  specify  first,  second,  or  third 
part  of  the  same  epistle,  play,  or  book ;  but  put 
these  figures  before  the  name  of  the  play  or  book. 
Give  at  least  one  full  syllable  to  each  abbreviation 
of  the  book,  and  where  it  is  possible  make  the  ab- 
breviation end  with  a  consonant. 

In  making  reference  to  Shakspere's  1  Henry  VI, 
iii.  2. 14,  the  form  here  given  is  the  preferred  style 
of  the  Clarendon  Press.  Some  writers  prefer  1 
Henry  VI,  in.  ii.  14.  The  great  objection  to  small 
capitals  is  their  too  frequent  insignificance. 

From  English  Past  and  Present,  by  R.  C.  Trench 

1  Guest,  Hist,  of  English  Rhythms,  vol.  I.  p.  280. 

2  Hooker,  Eccles.  Pol.  i.  3,  5. 

3  Craik,  On  the  English  of  Shakespeare,  2nd  edit.  p.  97. 

4  Marsh,  Manual  of   the  English  Language,    Engl.   edit. 

p.  278. 

From  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
Murray's  edition  of  1881  (8  vols.  8vo) 

1  Orosius,  I.  ii.  c.  19,  p.  143. 

2  Heineccius,  Antiquitat.  Juris  Roman,  torn,  i,  p.  96. 

3  Jornandes,  de  Reb.  Get.  c.  30,  p.  654  [p.  87,  ed.  Lugd. 

B.  1597]. 

4  Ausonius  (de  Claris  TMribus.  p.  257-262  [No.  14]). 

5  A.  Thierry,  Lettres  sur  1'Histoire  de  France,  p.  90. 

6  Procopius,  de  Bell. Vandal.  I.  i.  c.  7,  p.  194  [torn.  I.  p.  341, 

ed.  Bonn]. 


Abbreviations  in  foot-notes  59 

From  Hume's  History  of  England, 
Cadett's  edition  of  1841  (6  vols.  8vo) 

1  Herbert,  p.  431,  432.         4  Burnet,  p.  322. 

2  Collier,  vol.  ii.  p.  176.       5  34  and  35  Hen.  VIII.  c.  i. 

3  Stowe,  p.  575.  6  Me"moires  du  Bellay,  lib.  x. 

The  comma  is  not  inserted  after  the  period  in  some 
places  where  it  would  be  used  in  the  text. 

When  citations  are  made  in  the  text,  the  abbre- 
viations in  copy  of  ch.  for  the  chapter  and  p.  for 
the  page  should  not  be  repeated  in  type,  even  when 
the  author  has  made  them  in  his  manuscript  copy. 
Spell  out  chapter  and  page.  The  abbreviations  ch., 
p.,  and  pp.  may  be  used  in  foot-notes. 

In  a  lower-case  text  &c.  should  not  be  used ;  etc. 
is  better,  but  it  need  not  be  repeated. 

PS.  (not  P.S.)  for  postscript,  and  MS.  for  manu- 
script, are  still  tolerated  in  capital  or  small-capital 
form,  but  they  are  more  acceptable  as  spelled-out 
words. 

By-laws  are  frequently  printed  with  the  side- 
headings  ART.  1  for  ARTICLE  1,  SEC.  2  for  SECTION  2, 
etc.,  but  it  is  a  better  practice  to  print  the  word  in 
full  in  the  paragraph  where  it  first  appears,  and  to 
omit  the  word  in  subsequent  paragraphs,  using  the 
proper  figure  only,  as  is  customary  in  verses  of  the 
Bible  and  in  hymn-books. 

The  arabic  figures  engraved  on  illustrations  as 
references  to  their  explanations  in  the  small  type 
below  the  illustration  never  have  No.  before  them. 


60  Special  lists  of  abbreviations 

It  is  useless  to  insert  No.  before  the  reference  fig- 
ures in  the  explanation.  Figures  and  letters  used 
as  references  do  not  need  the  abbreviating  period. 

Abbreviations  of  honorary  titles  should  not  be 
divided  by  putting  one  letter  in  one  line  and  its 
mate  in  the  following  line.  These  titles,  abbreviated 
with  two  or  more  capitals,  as  in  A.M.  or  LL.D.,  do 
not  need  intervening  spaces,  for  the  space  is  con- 
fusing in  a  list  of  many  abbreviated  titles. 

When  two  or  more  pages  are  specified  in  the 
text,  set  them  thus :  pages  141, 142, 158,  and  not  as 
pp.  141-2,  158,  nor  as  141-158.  When  a  reference 
includes  numerous  pages,  set  thus :  pages  141  to  150. 
Compactness  is  desirable  in  references,  but  abbre- 
viations should  not  be  indefinite  or  misleading. 

When  a  period  of  time  is  expressed  by  the  dates 
of  two  consecutive  years,  set  them  thus :  1895-6. 
When  there  is  a  lapse  of  a  year  or  more,  give  each 
date  in  full,  as :  1895, 1897, 1899.  The  apostrophe 
in  such  cases  as  '95,  '97,  and  '99  is  common,  but  it 
makes  an  unpleasing  abbreviation. 

The  careful  writer  who  has  to  abbreviate  in  his 
foot-notes  the  names  of  books  and  periodicals,  or 
scientific  terms  and  foreign  or  little-used  words, 
should  prepare  an  alphabetical  list  of  abbrevia- 
tions that  will  prevent  him  and  the  compositor 
from  spelling  the  same  word  in  different  ways. 
As  the  compositor  is  required  to  follow  his  copy, 
he  must  abbreviate  as  the  writer  has  done,  even 
when  the  abbreviations  are  not  always  consistent. 


Ill 


COMPOUND  WORDS 

)ORDS  of  variable  spelling  are  rare  in 
ordinary  copy,  but  words  that  may 
be  compounded  are  frequent.  When 
to  set  up  two  meeting  words  as  two 
words,  when  to  consolidate  them  in 
one  word,  when  to  connect  them  with  a  hyphen, 
are  problems  that  the  compositor  has  to  decide 
almost  every  hour.  He  finds  it  very  difficult  to 
get  authoritative  instruction.  There  are  not  many 
authors  who  compound  words  uniformly,  and  the 
dictionaries  differ,  and  sometimes  are  not  consis- 
tent in  rendering  words  or  phrases  of  similar  class. 
Arm  chair,  arm-chair,  armchair,  are  suitable 
illustrations.  The  proof-reader  may  overrule  the 
teachings  of  the  dictionary  provided  by  the  office 
as  an  authority,  and  may  correct  proof  by  some 
system  of  his  own.  The  author  may  object  to  the 


62         Compounds  needed  for  clearness 

rulings  of  dictionary  and  proof-reader,  and  may 
insist  on  his  own  methods.  It  follows  that  there 
are  often  wranglings  in  every  printing-house  over 
the  propriety  of  some  compounded  words.1 


VALUE  OF  COMPOUNDS 

The  subject  cannot  be  set  aside  as  frivolous.  The 
importance  of  making  instantly  perceptible  the 
union  or  the  distinctiveness  of  meeting  words  that 
might  otherwise  convey  unintended  meanings  is 
fairly  presented  by  Mr.  Teall  in  the  three  forms 
iron  fence,  iron-saw,  and  ironwood.  An  iron 
fence  is  a  fence  of  iron,  which  is  clearly  under- 
stood when  set  as  two  distinct  words.  Iron-saw, 
a  saw  made  to  cut  iron,  if  not  connected  with  a 
hyphen  would  convey  the  wrong  notion  that  it 
was  a  saw  made  of  iron.  Ironwood,  the  accepted 
name  of  a  kind  of  hard  wood,  would  not  so  clearly 
convey  the  intended  meaning  if  set  as  two  words 
or  if  it  were  connected  with  a  hyphen.  Other 
illustrations  could  be  presented  to  show  that  the 
neglect  to  compound  or  to  keep  separate  meeting 
words  may  lead  to  unforeseen  misunderstandings. 

l  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  are  interested  in  greater  niceties 

writer  to  lay  down  new  rules  or  are  referred  to  two  books  by 

to  take  part  in  the  controversies  Mr.  F.  Horace   Teall :   English 

of  opposing  systems.     For  this  Compound  Words  and  Phrases 

work  it  is  enough  to  present  (octavo,  New  York,  1892),  and 

examples  of  words   and  word-  The   Compounding  of   English 

joinings  that    have    met    with  Words,   etc.     (duodecimo,  New 

general  approval.    Readers  who  York,  1891). 


Consolidations  fixed  by  usage          63 


THEORY   OF  COMPOUNDING 

The  theory  of  compounding  is  quite  intelligibly 
presented  in  many  English  grammars.  When  two 
words  meet  which  convey  one  meaning,  with  the 
emphasis  of  pronunciation  upon  the  first  word, 
the  two  words  should  be  consolidated  or  connected 
with  the  hyphen,  as  in  laughter-loving.  When 
emphasis  is  required  for  the  second  word,  the  two 
words  may  not  be  connected  with  the  hyphen.1 

This  is  clear  and  easily  remembered,  but  to  this 
general  rule  there  are  some  exceptions  not  to  be 
classified.  The  compositor  must  determine  whether 
the  first  word  in  a  possible  compound  is  an  ordi- 
nary and  removable  qualifier  which  has  no  need  of 
a  hyphen,  or  whether  it  is  an  inseparable  adjunct 
which  must  have  the  hyphen  or  be  consolidated 
with  the  following  word.  The  consolidation  of  two 
words  in  one,  as  in  ironwood,  is  still  more  difficult 
to  define  by  rule,  for  consolidation  is  governed  by 
usage,  as  in  the  words  railroad  and  steamboat,  once 

i  ...  Is  not  the  pronunciation  compound  has  but  one  accent- 

of  the  words  the  best  guide? —  ed  syllable  in  pronunciation,  as 

In  the  English  language,  every  nightcap,  bedstead,  broad"  sword, 

word  of  more  than  one  syllable  the  two  words  have  coalesced 

is  marked  by  an  accent  on  some  completely  into  one,  and  no  hy- 

particular  syllable.     Some  very  phen  should  be  admitted.     On 

long  words  indeed  admit  a  sec-  the  other  hand,  when  each  of 

ondary   accent   on  another  syl-  the  radical  words  has  an  accent, 

lable ;  but  still  this  is  much  in-  as  Chris1  tian-name',  broad' -shoul'- 

ferior,   and  leaves  one  leading  dered,  I  think  the  hyphen  should 

accent  prominent :  as  in  expos'-  be  used.     Goold  Brown's  Gram- 

tiilatory.     Accordingly,  when  a  mar  of  English  Grammars,  p.  188. 


64          Dieresis  in  consolidated  words 

separate,  but  now  consolidated,  while  house-boat 
and  ferry-boat  are  sometimes  hyphened  and  some- 
times set  as  distinct  words. 

Many  good  writers  do  not  favor  the  increase  of 
compounds :  words  once  hyphened  are  now  sepa- 
rated, as 

common  law     master  printer     sister  city 
grand  jury        minute  hand         slave  trade 
interest  tables  palm  leaf  Sunday  school 

law  merchant    peasant  woman    supper  table 

The  compounding  of  very  long  phrases,  as  never- 
enough-to-be-remembered,  long-looked-for,  coun- 
sellor-at-law,  after  the  German  method  of  uniting 
all  qualifying  words,  is  not  practised  by  careful 
writers.  Bigelow  judiciously  says  that  the  hyphen- 
ing of  these  words  adds  nothing  toward  clearness 
of  expression.  Two  words  should  not  be  connected 
with  the  hyphen  when  separated  words  will  convey 
the  meaning  with  sufficient  distinctness. 

THE  DIERESIS 

The  dieresis,  always  on  the  second  vowel,  may  be  re- 
quired in  some  words  like  cooperative  and  preem- 
inent. When  a  word  carrying  this  dieresis,  like 
cooperation  and  preemption,  has  to  be  divided  on 
the  first  syllable  at  the  end  of  a  line,  the  dieresis 
should  be  suppressed. 

He  sought  the  agent  at  once,  and  asked  his  co- 
operation in  securing  for  his  son  the  pre- 
emption of  the  land. 


Fractions  and  numerals  65 

When  the  prefix  co-  is  followed  by  a  consonant  it 
does  not  always  take  the  hyphen.  Usage  allows 
contemporary,  copartner,  and  correspond,  as  well 
as  co-worker  and  co-respondent. 

The  dieresis  should  be  preferred  where,  in  words 
not  compound,  the  vowel  o  is  doubled,  forming  a 
separate  syllable,  as  in  epizootic,  laocoon,  zoology, 
zoophyte. 

POINTS  OF  THE  COMPASS 

Useless  hyphened  words  are  often  made  in  naming 
some  of  the  points  of  the  compass,  as  north-east, 
north-west,  south-east,  south-west,  which  are  better 
as  consolidated  words  (northeast,  northwest,  etc.). 
A  hyphen  is  needed  only  when  one  of  the  words  is 
repeated,  as  in  north-northeast,  south-southwest. 

FRACTIONS  AND  NUMERALS 

Simple  fractions,  like  one  half,  two  thirds,  «even 
sixteenths,  ten  thousandths,  need  no  connecting 
hyphen;  they  are  more  clearly  expressed  when 
numerator  and  denominator  are  kept  separate  and 
printed  as  two  disunited  words.  But  two  nume- 
rals may  be  compounded  by  the  aid  of  the  hyphen 
when  they  are  needed  to  qualify  a  following  noun, 
as  in  one-half  interest,  two-third  share,  seven-six- 
teenth division. 

When  the  fraction  is  complex,  as  in  three  sev- 
enty-ninths or  thirty-eight  thousandths,  the  hyphen 


66 

should  be  used  to  connect  the  numerals  more  nearly 
related.  For  a  similar  reason  the  hyphen  should 
be  used  in  the  specification  of  numbered  streets, 
as  in  Eighty-second  Street  or  One-hundred-and- 
twenty-first  Street.  The  hyphen  makes  the  phrase 
awkward  in  appearance,  but  it  is  of  real  service, 
for  by  dictation  the  words  Eighty-second  Street 
might  be  misunderstood  as  Eighty  (or  80)  Second 
Street.  Two  numerals  so  connected  as  to  express 
an  amount  that  represents  unity  and  not  division, 
as  twenty-seven,  should  always  be  compounded. 

Compounds  of  half,  quarter,  eighth,  etc.,  are 
usually  conjoined  by  the  hyphen,  as 

eighth-barrel  half-dozen  half-witted 

half-barrel  half-holiday  quarter-barrel 

half-crown  half-past  quarter-day 

half-dollar  half-yearly  quarter-section 

but  quartermaster  and  headquarters  are  not. 

Numerals  of  one  syllable  used  before  the  suffix 
-fold,  or  with  the  words  score,  penny,  and  pence, 
are  consolidated,  as  in 

fourfold  halfpence  twelvepence 

fourpence  halfpenny  twofold 

fourscore  sixpence  twopenny 

but  numerals  of  two  syllables  are  made  separate 
words,  as  in  a  hundred  fold,  twenty  score,  fifteen 
pence.  When  used  as  an  adjective  qualifier,  as  in 
fifteen-penny  tax,  the  hyphen  may  be  used. 


Consolidation  of  personal  nouns         67 

First-rate,  second-rate,  and  other  terms  signi- 
fying degrees,  are  compounded.  So  are  the  titles 
of  First-lieutenant,  Second-lieutenant,  First-mate, 
Second -mate,  when  used  before  the  name  of  the 
person;  but  when  these  titles  occur  without  the 
name  of  the  person  they  are  made  separate  words. 
Numerals  combined  with  adjectives  or  nouns 
and  used  as  qualifying  adjectives  take  the  hyphen. 

four-mile  run  three-legged  stool  two-hundred- 
four-story  twenty-acre  lot  dollar  note 
one-sided  two-foot  rule  two-faced 


APPROVED  COMPOUNDS  OF  KINDRED 

foster-brother  great-grandfa-     mother-in-law 
grand-uncle          ther  second-cousin 

great-aunt        heir-at-law  son-in-law 

Kinship  words  in  frequent  use  are  consolidated 

godfather         grandfather         stepfather 
godmother        grandmother        stepmother 
godson  stepdaughter       stepson 


PERSONAL  COMPOUNDS 

Compound  nouns  ending  with  man  or  woman 
should  be  consolidated :  as,  Englishman,  French- 
woman, oysterman,  warehouseman,  needlewoman, 
workingman,  marketwoman,  etc. 


68  Civic  and  military  titles 

While  a  noun  or  an  adjective  made  by  adding  a 
suffix  to  a  proper  name  composed  of  two  words 
may  be  compounded  (as  in  East-Indian  or  New- 
Yorker),  qualifying  names  without  a  suffix  should 
not  be  compounded :  the  East  India  Company  and 
a  New  York  man  are  better  renderings. 

The  hyphen  is  needed  in  many  words  beginning 
with  self.  Exceptions  are  selfhood,  selfsame,  and 
selfish  with  some  derivatives.  Words  ending  with 
self,  as  myself,  itself,  himself,  are  consolidated. 
The  exception  is  one's  self,  which  should  be  made 
two  words,  marking  the  first  word  in  the  possessive 
case.  There  are  a  few  writers,  however,  who  pre- 
fer the  solid  form  oneself. 

Personal  descriptions  tersely  expressed  in  two 
words,  as  light -haired,  long-legged,  sharp -nosed, 
broad-shouldered,  blue-eyed,  invariably  have  these 
words  connected  with  a  hyphen. 

CIVIC  AND  MILITARY  TITLES 

Accepted  compounds  are  major-general,  rear-ad- 
miral, captain-general,  adjutant-general,  attorney- 
general,  lieutenant-colonel,  governor-general,  vice- 
president,  vice-chancellor,  but  the  words  viceroy 
and  viceregent  are  consolidated.  They  always  take 
one  capital  when  they  precede  the  name  of  the  per- 
son, and  sometimes  when  used  as  the  synonym  of 
that  person's  name,  as  in  the  words  Governor-gen- 
eral, the  Rear-admiral,  the  Vice-president,  etc. 


Compounds  of  possessive  case          69 

COMPOUNDS  OF  -LIKE  AND  MID- 

Compounds  ending  with  -like  are  usually  made 
one  word,  unless  derived  from  a  proper  name,  or 
appearing  in  unusual  and  unpleasing  combination, 
as  they  do  when  two  or  more  similar  consonants 
meet,  in  which  case  the  hyphen  should  be  used, 
as  it  is  in  shell-like,  bell-like,  and  miniature-like. 
Childlike,  godlike,  lifelike,  ladylike,  businesslike, 
etc.,  are  always  consolidated. 

Compounds  in  which  the  prefix  mid-  begins  the 
word  are  frequently  written  with  a  hyphen,  as  in 
mid-ocean ;  but  the  words  in  commoner  use  have 
become  consolidated,  as  midday,  midnight,  midway, 
midsummer,  midships,  midland,  midrib,  midwife. 

COMPOUNDS  OF  COLOR 

Expressions  like  a  brownish  yellow  or  a  yellowish 
white,  being  simple  cases  of  adjective  and  noun, 
are  not  compounded.  But  where  a  noun  is  used 
with  an  adjective  to  specify  color  the  words  may 
take  the  hyphen :  lemon-yellow,  silver-gray,  olive- 
green,  emerald-green,  etc. 

COMPOUNDS  OF  POSSESSIVE  CASE 

Compounds  formed  of  nouns  in  the  possessive  case 
with  other  nouns  are  not  infrequent,  as  in  bird's- 
eye,  death's-head,  kingVevil,  crow's-nest,  bear's- 
foot,  jew's-harp,  etc.  The  use  of  a  hyphen  follow- 
5 


70  Approved  consolidations 

ing  the  possessive  'B  has  good  authority,  but  it  is 
of  doubtful  propriety  and  is  much  oftener  disre- 
garded, as  in  birdseye,  jewsharp,  ratsbane,  bees- 
wax, and  townspeople.  When  there  is  reasonable 
doubt  as  to  their  propriety,  it  will  be  safer  to  omit 
the  apostrophe  and  hyphen  and  to  consolidate. 

APPROVED  CONSOLIDATIONS 


anybody 
anything 
anj^where 
cannot 
evermore 

everybody 
everything 
everywhere 
forever 
forevermore 

nobody 
nothing 
nowhere 
something 
somewhere 

Any  one  and  every  one  should  be  kept  separate. 
Meantime,  meanwhile,  maybe,  anywise,  nowise, 
anyway,  awhile,  when  used  as  adverbs  should  be 
consolidated,  but  the  phrases,  after  a  while,  by 
and  by,  it  may  be,  should  be  made  separate  words. 


bystander 

freeholder 

nowadays 

byways 

halfway 

roughhew 

churchwarden 

heartache 

smallpox 

courtyard 

highroad 

snowdrop 

earthenware 

highway 

stockbroker 

eyebrow 

knickknack 

taxpayer 

eyelash 

landowner 

teardrop 

eyewitness 

lawgiver 

thoroughgoing 

facsimile 

lookout 

trademark 

fireproof 

newcomer 

Zionward 

PREFIXES 

Where  the  prefix  pre-  or  re-  is  joined  to  a  word 
beginning  with  e,  the  hyphen,  and  not  the  dieresis, 
may  be  needed,  as  pre-exist,  re-enter,  re-enlist. 

The  hyphen  should  be  used  when  the  prefix  conies 
before  a  consonant  and  forms  a  word  similar  in 
form  to  another  of  different  signification,  as  in 
re-create  or  re-creation,  but  not  in  rec'reation, 
nor  in  rec'ollection.  It  may  be  used  in  re-form  or 
re-formation,  but  not  in  reformation,  for  the  word 
with  a  hyphen  conveys  a  different  meaning.  The 
hyphen  is  used  in  pre-historic  and  pre-raphaelite, 
but  not  in  predetermine. 

The  prefixes  over,  under,  after,  out,  cross,  and 
counter  are  usually  consolidated,  as  in  overdone, 
overestimate,  overboard,  underclothes,  undertaker, 
underbrush,  undergraduate,  afterpiece,  aftermath, 
outlook,  outpour,  crossexamine,  crossquestion, 
countermarch,  countercharm.  When,  however, 
these  prefixes  come  before  nouns  or  adjectives  of 
two  syllables  they  may  take  the  hyphen,  as  in  under- 
current, under-master,  counter-current,  over-issue, 
over-jealous.  In  some  dictionaries  the  hyphen  is 
authorized  in  under -lip,  over -anxious,  after -age, 
after-part,  cross-piece,  county-town,  cross-section, 
counter-influence,  but  these  words  are  oftener  kept 
apart.  Antislavery  and  antedate,  once  joined  with 
a  hyphen,  are  now  more  common  as  consolidated 
words. 


72         Prefixes  frequently  consolidated 

Demi  and  semi,  non,  sub,  and  extra  are  prefixes 
usually  consolidated  with  the  following  word,  but 
when  the  combination  is  unusual,  as  in  demi-devil, 
semi-savage,  non-essential,  sub-iodide,  extra-judi- 
cial, the  hyphen  should  be  used. 

The  same  distinction  may  be  made  in  scientific 
prefixes  like  electro,  thermo,  pseudo,  .sulpho. 
Electro  -  gilding,  thermo-electric,  pseudo -metallic, 
and  sulpho-cyanide  are  made  clearer  by  the  hyphen. 

Above,  ill,  well,  so,  when  they  precede  a  parti- 
ciple and  are  used  as  qualifiers,  may  be  connected  to 
that  participle  by  a  hyphen,  as  in  above-mentioned, 
ill-bred,  well -formed,  so-called.  Adverbs  ending 
in  -ly  are  seldom  compounded  with  the  participle 
that  may  follow. 

Nouns  or  adjectives  preceded  or  followed  by  a 
present  participle  are  frequently  connected  with  a 
hyphen:  composing-room,  printing-house,  dining- 
table,  good-looking,  cloud-compelling.  In  the  ear- 
lier editions  of  Shakspere  and  of  other  English 
dramatists  hyphened  compounds  of  nouns  with 
participles  are  noticeably  frequent. 

School  is  consolidated  in  the  following  words : 
schoolboy,  schoolmate,  schoolmaster,  schoolmis- 
tress ;  but  it  is  compounded  in  school-bred  and 
school-teaching  when  used  to  qualify  a  following 
noun.  It  is  a  distinct  word  in  school  teacher, 
school  children,  school  days,  school  district. 

Eye  is  usually  consolidated  in  most  of  its  com- 
pounds, as  eyelash,  eyebrow,  eyeglass,  eyewitness. 


Prefixes  frequently  consolidated         73 


PREFIXES  AND  TERMINALS 

Compounds  that  end  with  boat,  house,  book, 
room,  side,  yard,  shop,  mill,  work,  maker, 
holder,  keeper,  etc.,  are  frequently  printed  with 
a  hyphen,  but  when  the  words  that  so  end  are  in 
common  use  they  should  be  consolidated,  as  in 


anteroom 

foothills 

rainfall 

bedroom 

framework 

roadside 

bedside 
bookbinder 
bookseller 

gamekeeper 
groundwork 
handbill 

sawmill 
seaside 
shoemaker 

breastworks 

handbook 

steamboat 

commonplace 
daybreak 
daylight 
daytime 
downstairs 

headwaters 
hillside 
hilltop 
hotchpot 
lawsuit 

stockholder 
storehouse 
storeroom 
upstairs 
warehouse 

drawbridge 
earthworks 
fireside 
firewarden 

lifetime 
network 
outhouse 
quitclaim 

watercourse 
wayfarer 
wayside 
workshop 

It  should  be  noted  that  most  of  the  prefixes  in 
these  examples  are  words  of  one  syllable.  When 
the  prefix  consists  of  two  syllables,  as  in  canal- 
boat,  ferry-house,  dwelling-house,  water-drop,  etc., 
the  words  are  more  acceptable  when  connected 
with  the  hyphen. 


74         Words  that  may  be  compounded 


PHRASES  OF  SEPARATE  WORDS 


after  a  while 

attorney  at  law 

by  and  by 

by  the  bye 

ever  to  be  remembered 

good  by 

good  morning 

in  any  way 

in  any  wise 

in  no  wise 

inside  out 


in  the  meanwhile 

in  the  meantime 

it  may  be  so 

long  looked  for  (return) 

some  time  ago 

the  carrying  out 

the  pulling  down 

uncalled  for  (remarks) 

upside  down 

waste  ground 

well  laid  out  (grounds) 


Good  day  and  good  night  should  be  made  separate 
words,  except  when  used  as  qualifiers  of  a  follow- 
ing noun,  as  in  good-night  kiss,  good-day  greeting. 


APPROVED   COMPOUNDS 


a-fishing 

charter-party 

fellow-student 

apple-tree 

counting-house 

first-born 

arm-chair 

church-goer 

first-fruits 

arm's-length 

deep-mouthed 

fore-leg 

battle-flag 

dining-hall 

freight-car 

bill-holder 

easy-chair 

glass-house 

bird's-eye  view 

evil-doer 

gold-mining 

book-account 

fancy-free 

good-will 

bric-a-brac 

fault-finding 

ground-floor 

burnt-offering 

fee-simple 

ground-plan 

Compounds  in  capital  letters 


75 


ground-rent 

harvest-time 

head-right 

heaven-high 

high-priest 

high- water  mark 

hill-bound 

hind-leg 

hind-quarters 

horse-power 

house-servant 

imposing-stone 

judgment-day 

knight-errant 

land-office 

laughing-stock 

law-abiding 

law-writer 

livery-stable 

live-stock 

long-suffering 

looker-on 


loop-hole 

man-of-war 

many-sided 

May-pole 

mill-pond 

moss-covered 

night-time 

old-fashioned 

out-building 

party-wall 

peace-loving 

pew-owner 

purchase-money 

rent-charge 

rent-service 

resting-place 

safe-keeping 

set-off 

sewing-machine 

side-track 

silver-tongued 

smart-money 


snow-bound 

snow-storm 

spell-bound 

star-chamber 

starting-point 

steam-engine 

stock-raising 

stumbling-block 

subject-matter 

table-land 

terra-cotta 

text-book 

text- writer 

title-page 

trade- wind 

water-mark 

water-proof 

way-bill 

way-station 

well-being 

wide-spread 

wrong-doer 


Compound  words  often  cause  over -wide  spacing, 
but  the  gaps  so  made  may  be  modified  by  putting 
a  thin  space  on  each  side  of  the  hyphen. 

A  compound  word  within  a  line  of  capital  letters 
should  have  an  en  dash  to  mark  the  compound  j 
but  when  it  has  to  be  divided  at  the  end  of  a  line, 
the  hyphen  should  be  used. 


IV 


FIGURES  AND  NUMERALS 

RABIC  FIGURES  are  not  always  to 
be  repeated  in  type  as  written  in  the 
manuscript  copy.  In  the  descriptive 
text  of  a  standard  book  numbers  but 
occasionally  presented  are  more  pleas- 
ing in  words.  Figures  should  be  avoided  as  much 
as  possible  for  all  numbers  but  those  of  dates.  Yet 
there  are  limits  to  the  rule,  for  many  writings  com- 
pel a  free  use  of  arabic  figures. 


FIGURES  PREFERRED  IN  COMMERCIAL  PRINTING 

When  and  where  to  substitute  figures  for  words 
cannot  be  determined  by  an  inflexible  rule.  If  the 
compositor  finds  this  statement  in  his  copy,  the 
height  of  the  statue  is  8  ft.  1 1  in.,  he  may 
put  it  in  type  in  many  ways.  If  it  is  to  appear  in 

76 


Words  preferred  in  formal  writings      77 

an  auctioneer's  catalogue,  or  in  an  advertisement 
where  compactness  is  desired,  lie  may  repeat  it 
exactly  as  written,  using  figures  and  abbreviations 
for  feet  and  inches.  If  it  is  for  a  more  carefully 
printed  trader's  pamphlet  or  circular,  he  may  use 
figures,  but  he  should  spell  out  the  words  feet 
and  inches;  if  it  is  for  the  descriptive  text  of  a 
good  book,  the  words  eight  feet  and  eleven  inches 
should  be  preferred.  This  substitution  of  words 
for  figures  is  a  hazard,  but  the  compositor  may  as- 
sume, when  space  is  limited  and  brevity  is  sought, 
that  figures  and  abbreviations  will  be  preferred. 

WORDS  PREFERRED  IN  FORMAL  WRITINGS 

When  great  precision  of  statement  is  desired,  as 
is  customary  in  legal  documents  and  in  many  other 
kinds  of  formal  writing,  figures  and  abbreviations 
should  never  be  used  where  there  is  abundance  of 
space.1  Words  should  be  preferred  for  the  state- 
ments of  whole  numbers  in  simple  sentences : 

The  basket  held  twenty  apples. 

The  engine  has  one  hundred  horse-power. 

The  steamer's  capacity  is  six  thousand  tons. 

In  ordinary  newspaper  and  job  work  numbers  of 
infrequent  recurrence  should  be  in  words.  Even 

l  The  principal  exception  to  the  compactness  of  figures  aids 
this  rule  is  to  be  found  in  the  the  reader  in  making  a  compari- 
composition  of  tables  in  which  son  of  amounts. 


78  Uniformity  of  expression 

when  the  numbers  are  large  but  not  too  frequent, 
words  are  to  be  preferred  if  space  will  permit. 

The  regiment  consisted  of  ten  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  men. 

The  returns  showed  twenty-nine  killed,  forty-four 
wounded,  and  twenty -six  missing. 

In  ordinary  description  the  expression  of  numbers 
by  hundreds  is  preferred  to  that  by  thousands: 
twenty-eight  hundred  and  sixty  is  a  more  approved 
phrase  than  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty. 
In  legal  documents  a  contrary  method  prevails : 
dates  always  appear  by  thousands,  and  spelled-out 
words  are  obligatory  for  measurements,  values,  and 
their  fractions  in  every  form. 

UNIFORMITY   OF  EXPRESSION  TO   BE  MAINTAINED 

When  space  is  limited,  and  numbers  appear  in 
every  sentence  and  are  complex,  calling  for  many 
digits,  spelled-out  words  are  a  hindrance  and  of  no 
benefit  to  the  reader.  The  information  intended 
will  be  more  quickly  discerned  by  figures,  which 
must  be  regarded  as  proper  when  they  really  help 
the  reader.  Yet  it  is  not  becoming  to  put  figures 
in  one  chapter  or  paragraph  and  not  in  another. 
Uniformity  of  style  should  be  maintained  through- 
out. It  is  better  to  give  slight  offence  by  an  ap- 
parently pedantic  precision  in  one  paragraph  than 
to  give  greater  offence  by  varying  the  style  in  dif- 
ferent paragraphs  to  the  confusion  of  the  reader. 


Words  preferred  in  legal  documents      79 

WORDS  PREFERRED   IN   LEGAL  DOCUMENTS 

Words  should  always  be  preferred  for  numbers  as 
well  as  for  dates  in  legal  documents,  as  in 

This  indenture,  made  the  twenty-seventh  day  of 
June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-seven. 

Words  should  also  be  used  in  all  legal  papers  for 
the  statement  of  moneys  paid,  as  well  as  for  the 
measurements  of  land  and  the  expression  of  values, 
for  figures  are  specially  liable  to  error,  alteration, 
and  misconstruction.  For  this  reason  statements 
of  numbers  plainly  intended  to  have  special  dis- 
tinction should  be  in  words,  even  when  they  ap- 
pear as  arabic  figures  in  ordinary  writings.  Even 
in  compact  writing  the  use  of  spelled-out  words 
instead  of  figures  is  sometimes  obligatory. 

FIGURES  SHOULD  NOT  BEGIN  A  SENTENCE 

When  the  sentence  begins  with  a  numerical  state- 
ment, words  must  be  used  for  the  numbers,  even 
if  figures  are  used  in  other  parts  of  that  sentence. 

Eighteen  thousand  men  enlisted  in  New  York  State 
during  the  year:  8000  are  credited  to  Manhat- 
tan, 4000  to  Brooklyn,  2000  to  Troy,  1000  to 
Albany,  and  3000  elsewhere. 

A  statement  like  this  is  permissible  in  a  newspaper 
or  pamphlet,  but  in  a  history  or  in  any  book  in- 


80       Figures  and  words  In  one  sentence 

tended  to  be  formally  precise,  it  is  a  much  better 
practice  to  put  all  the  numbers  in  words. 

In  a  catalogue  of  books  in  which  the  size  of  the 
book  has  to  be  specified,  the  terms  4to,  8vo,  12mo, 
etc.,  may  be  used  within  the  sentence,  but  the  words 
Quarto,  Octavo,  Twelvemo,  Eighteenmo,  Thirty- 
twomo,  etc.,  are  better  when  they  begin  sentences. 

FIGURES  AND  WORDS  IN  ONE  SENTENCE 

When  any  paragraph  consists  largely  of  numbers 
that  specify  quantities,  weights,  or  measurements, 
immediately  followed  by  rates  or  values,  then  the 
quantities,  weights,  or  measurements  should  be  in 
words  and  the  rates  in  figures.  This  remark  ap- 
plies mainly  to  the  circulars  of  traders.  In  market 
reports,  catalogues,  inventories,  and  works  of  like 
character  in  which  great  compactness  is  desired, 
figures  may  be  used  throughout  for  specifications 
of  all  numbers.  When  vulgar  fractions  have  to 
be  used  with  whole  numbers,  the  selection  of  arabic 
figures  seems  unavoidable. 

Seventy  yards  of  calico,  at  5%  cents  per  yard. 
Forty-five  bushels  of  oats,  at  37*4  cents  per  bushel. 
Seventeen  acres  of  land,  at  $12%  per  acre. 

When  numerical  statements  like  these  are  repeated 
frequently,  this  restricted  use  of  figures  for  rates  or 
values  makes  a  proper  distinction  between  quanti- 
ties and  rates,  and  helps  the  reader  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  subject-matter. 


Dates  best  expressed  in  figures          81 

Arabic  figures  should  be  selected  to  express  de- 
grees of  heat  (as  in  Temperature  71°)  or  specifica- 
tions of  gravity  (as  in  Lead  is  11.352),  but  words 
are  better  for  degrees  of  inclination  (as  in  At  an 
angle  of  forty-five  degrees). 

Records  of  votes  (as  in  20  yeas  to  41  nays),  or  of 
time  in  a  race  (as  in  One  mile  in  2  minutes  23£  sec- 
onds), are  made  clearer  by  figures. 

Numerals  occasionally  employed  as  qualifiers  are 
neater  in  words  (as  in  two-foot  rule  or  ten-story 
building) ;  but  when  a  noun  is  frequently  repeated 
on  the  same  page,  with  different  qualifiers,  figures 
make  the  subject-matter  more  intelligible  (as  in  6- 
point,  24-point,  and  60-poiiit  type).  It  is  admitted, 
however,  that  the  combination  of  figures  and  words 
in  a  compound  is  not  sightly. 

DATES  BEST  EXPRESSED   IN  FIGURES 

In  ordinary  writings  all  dates  should  be  in  arabic 
figures,  but  when  they  appear  in  legal  documents 
words  should  be  used.  When  the  numerical  day 
of  the  month  precedes  the  month,  it  should  appear 
as  10th  April  or  22d  April.  When  it  follows  the 
month,  the  th  or  d  is  not  required ;  it  should  be 
April  10  or  April  22.  When  it  is  spelled  out  in  a 
document,  it  should  be  in  full,  as  the  tenth  day  of 
April  or  the  twenty-second  day  of  April.  Dates 
should  be  stated  with  system  in  every  book.  It  is 
a  fault  to  have  April  17,  1762,  on  one  page,  and 


82  Vulgar  and  decimal  fractions 

23d  August,  1764,  on  another.  The  use  of  2nd  or 
3rd,  common  in  England,  is  not  to  be  commended ; 
2d  or  3d  is  a  more  acceptable  abbreviation. 

STATEMENTS   OF  TIME 

In  formal  writing  a  statement  of  time  should  be 
made  in  words.  Phrases  like  two  o'clock,  half -past 
three,  or  ten  minutes  to  four  are  more  pleasingly 
expressed  by  words  than  by  2  o'clock,  3.30,  or  3.50. 

Hours  are  usually  separated  from  minutes  by  a 
period,  as  in  11.30.  Sometimes  the  period  is  in- 
verted, as  in  11*30,  and  sometimes  a  colon  is  un- 
wisely used,  as  in  11:30.  The  forms  o'clk  and  o'cl'k 
are  tolerated  in  narrow  column  work  only. 

In  rapid  writing  figures  are  often  used  for  time 
when  followed  by  the  abbreviations  a.m.  or  p.m. 
When  a.m.  and  p.m.  are  not  in  the  copy,  which  reads, 
at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  or  at  twelve  o'clock 
noon,  words  should  be  used  instead  of  figures. 

VULGAR  AND   DECIMAL  FRACTIONS 

In  ordinary  description,  but  not  in  a  legal  docu- 
ment, the  expression  of  money  in  complex  or  broken 
amounts,  as  $21.76  or  £23  7s.  3d.,  should  be  in  fig- 
ures. Even  amounts  of  money,  like  five  dollars  or 
three  shillings,  may  be  in  words,  but  not  if  figures 
are  used  in  the  same  paragraph  for  other  amounts. 
In  ordinary  composition,  whole  numbers  with  vul- 
gar fractions  often  compel  the  use  of  figures. 


Obscurity  of  many  fractions  83 

Analysis  showed  13^  grains  of  soda  to  the  pint. 
John  has  $76.21,  and  James  has  $50.67. 

An  isolated  vulgar  fraction  should  be  in  words: 
|  or  3*2  is  insignificant,  and  is  more  readably  pre- 
sented as  one  eighth  or  one  thirty-second. 

The  hyphen  is  not  needed  to  join  the  words  one 
eighth,  or  those  of  any  similar  fraction,  when  they 
are  used  alone,  but  it  is  needed  when  the  fraction 
is  used  as  a  qualifier,  as  in  one-eighth  share. 

Compounded  fractions  like  eight  thirty-seconds 
take  the  hyphen  for  the  compounded  numeral,  be- 
cause the  hyphen  is  needed  to  show  the  closer  re- 
lation of  the  two  numbers  to  each  other,  as  more 
clearly  appears  in  forty-seven  ninety-sixths. 

The  figures  upon  the  en  body  provided  by  type- 
founders are  insignificant  in  a  line  of  capital  let- 
ters. Newspapers  prefer  figures  on  the  two-third- 
em  body  for  their  tabular  work. 

lr :    *      ft      *      ft      f     i      **  ''  S*    %'     9*     *     %     % 

Fractions  on  the  en  body  are  quite  indistinct  in 
tabular  work,  for  which  fractions  on  the  em  body 
should  be  preferred.  Piece-fractions  on  two  bodies, 
each  one  half  of  the  en  body  of  the  text  type,  are 
often  required  for  vulgar  fractions,  but  they  are 
almost  unreadable  when  cast  for  the  smaller  sizes. 
As  these  piece-fractions  differ  in  size  and  cut  from 
the  solid  fractions  of  the  font,  the  two  forms  should 
not  be  used  in  the  same  table. 


84          Figures  not  mating  with  letters 

Decimal  fractions  are  most  intelligibly  stated  in 
figures,  with  the  decimal  point  placed  on  the  line 
of  the  figure,  as  it  is  in  .638.  The  inversion  of  the 
decimal  point,  as  in  '638,  is  not  an  improvement. 
The  decimal  point  must  always  precede  the  decimal 
figures.  If  division  has  to  be  made  between  dollars 
and  cents,  the  point  should  be  before  the  cents. 
The  ciphers  .00  should  not  be  added  in  paragraph 
matter  to  any  statement  of  even  dollars :  $100  is 
better  than  $100.00,  which  may  be  confusing.  Yet 
the  addition  of  the  ciphers  is  proper  in  every  table 
that  contains  columns  separating  dollars  and  cents. 

When  figures  of  very  large  amounts,  as  23,762 
or  5,368,872,  are  of  frequent  recurrence,  the  thou- 
sands should  be  separated  by  a  comma ;  but  it  is 
not  necessary  to  use  the  comma  for  four  figures 
only,  as  5962,  nor  should  the  comma  be  inserted 
between  figures  that  express  dates,  as  1861. 

Figures  in  a  descriptive  text  are  not  pleasing, 
but  they  are  necessary  when  the  amounts  are  large 
and  of  frequent  recurrence.  To  put  the  figures  in 
the  preceding  paragraph  in  words  would  require 
more  space,  and  would  not  be  regarded  as  an  im- 
provement by  the  reader.  In  the  texts  of  formal 
documents,  however,  words  are  preferred  to  fig- 
ures, not  only  for  their  greater  exactness,  but  for 
their  neater  appearance.  As  figures  are  ascending 
letters,  occupying  two  thirds  of  the  height  of  the 
body,  the  bunching  of  many  of  them  in  a  para- 
graph spots  the  page  and  produces  the  effect  of 


Numerical  names  of  streets  85 

the  overbold  display  of  many  capital  letters.  Yet 
it  often  happens  that  neatness  must  be  subordi- 
nated to  clearness.  Figures  are  more  quickly  read, 
are  more  compact,  and  are  decidedly  indispensable 
for  tabular  work  that  is  intended  to  present  con- 
trasts or  comparisons  of  amounts  or  values. 

Statistical  matter  not  put  in  tables  often  com- 
pels the  use  of  figures  in  a  descriptive  text,  as : 

The  warehouse  held  950  tons  of  wheat :  500  prime, 
240  ordinary,  210  inferior. 

The  cannon  captured  were  110  in  number :  40  ten- 
pounders,  50  forty-pounders,  15  sixty-pounders, 
5  hundred-pounders. 

In  all  encyclopedias,  gazetteers,  dictionaries,  guide- 
books, and  compact  works  of  similar  character,  fig- 
ures are  preferred  for  numerical  statements.  A 
similar  rule  prevails,  with  occasional  exceptions,  in 
some  forms  of  official  documents,  and  exception  is 
rarely  made  for  a  short  number  like  1  or  10. 


NUMERICAL  NAMES  OF  STREETS 

The  numerical  names  of  city  streets  are  presented 
best  in  words  when  the  words  are  not  repeated 
too  frequently  in  the  same  sentence  or  paragraph. 
First  Street  is  better  than  1st  Street.  One-hundred- 
and-sixty -first  Street  is  a  somewhat  awkward  term, 
but  it  should  be  governed  by  this  rule  and  be  uni- 
form with  other  numerical  words. 
6 


86          Numerical  names  of  regiments 

When  the  number  of  the  house  is  placed  before 
the  street  name,  as  65  First  Street  or  27  One-hun- 
dred-and-sixty-first  Street,  figures  are  needed  to 
emphasize  the  difference  between  the  number  of 
the  house  and  that  of  the  street.1 

When  streets  and  avenues  are  frequently  men- 
tioned in  the  same  sentence  or  paragraph,  and 
this  treatment  is  not  contrary  to  that  prevailing 
in  other  parts  of  the  work,  the  avenue  may  take 
the  numerical  word  and  the  street  the  arabic  figure 
or  figures,  as  Fifth  Avenue  and  125th  Street.  In 
directories  and  other  compacted  works  streets  and 
avenues  are  necessarily  described  by  figures  only. 
But  when  a  distinction  has  to  be  made,  the  avenue 
should  have  the  word,  the  street  the  figure. 

NUMERICAL  NAMES  OF  REGIMENTS 

Regiments  and  corps  of  the  army  are  easily  differ- 
entiated by  similar  treatment.  When  two  or  more 
regiments  only  are  specified  in  a  sentence,  as  the 
Fortieth  and  the  One-hundred-and-seventh,  words 
are  properly  selected ;  but  when  in  this  sentence  or 
paragraph  other  names  occur,  as  the  First  Corps, 
Seventh  Corps,  etc.,  then  the  corps  should  be  spe- 
cified by  numerical  words  and  the  regiments  by 
arabic  figures.  In  a  newspaper  report  of  a  battle 
or  a  review  the  specification  of  different  regiments 

l  In  England  the  comma  always  is  put  after  the  number  of  the 
house.     This  is  correct,  but  it  is  not  American  usage. 


Arabic  figures  with  capital  letters        87 

by  words  would  make  that  report  needlessly  prolix, 
and  sometimes  would  confuse  the  reader. 


ARABIC   FIGURES  BAD  MATES  FOR  CAPITALS 

Arabic  figures  are  now  made  to  line  with  the  lower- 
case letters,  and  are  of  improved  symmetrical  form, 
but  they  continue  to  be  cast  upon  the  en  body  for 
convenience  in  table-work.  They  are  consequently 
too  weak  to  be  used  with  capital  letters  that  may 
be  nearly  twice  as  wide.  For  this  reason  the  dates 
of  some  book  titles,  and  the  numbers  of  chapters 
and  of  other  headings  of  a  book  in  which  numbers 
have  to  appear  in  the  same  line  with  capitals,  are 
usually  put  in  roman  numerals  made  of  capital 
letters.  When  a  font  has  full  figures  of  the  width 
of  the  average  capital  letter,  these  broader  figures 
may  properly  be  used  with  the  capitals,  but  figures 
on  the  en  body  should  be  used  with  capital  letters 
only  when  these  capitals  are  of  condensed  shape. 

When  arabic  figures  are  required  in  a  display  line 
of  old-style  capitals,  the  figures  selected  should  be 
of  a  larger  body — about  one  half  larger — than  the 
regular  capitals,  and  should  be  justified  to  line ;  but 
this  is  possible  only  in  a  book  title  or  in  very  open 
display. 

ROMAN  NUMERALS 

The  insignificance  in  a  line  of  capital  letters  of 
the  arabic  figures  provided  for  book  types  compels 


88        Numerals  made  by  capital  letters 

the  use  of  roman  numerals  for  an  orderly  rendering 
of  dates  in  title-pages  and  chapter  headings.  The 
numerals  in  most  use  are  made  from  combinations 
of  the  seven  capitals,  I,  V,  X,  L,  C,  D,  M : 


1=1 

12=XII 

30=XXX 

500=D 

2 

II 

13 

XIII 

40 

XL 

600 

DC 

3 

III 

14 

XIV 

50 

L 

700 

DCC 

4 

IV 

15 

XV 

60 

LX 

800 

DCCC 

5 

V 

16 

XVI 

70 

LXX 

900 

CM 

6 

VI 

17 

XVII 

80 

LXXX 

1000 

M 

7 

VII 

18 

XVIII 

90 

XC 

2000 

MM 

8 

VIII 

19 

XIX 

100 

C 

3000 

MMM 

9 

IX 

20 

XX 

200 

cc 

4000 

MV 

10 

X 

21 

XXI 

300 

ccc 

5000 

V  or  00 

11 

XI 

22 

XXII 

400 

CD 

6000 

VM 

When  letters  that  represent  numbers  of  low  value 
follow  a  letter  of  high  value,  the  added  letters  give 
addition  to  this  high  value :  XIII  stands  for  13. 
When  a  letter  of  low  value  precedes  a  letter  of 
high  value,  this  preceding  letter  calls  for  its  sub- 
traction from  the  following  letter  of  higher  value : 
MCM=1900.  For  some  amounts  exceeding  2000 
the  characters  00,  X,  X,  V,  and  the  C  inverted  as 
0,  have  to  be  rudely  made  by  the  printer,  for  these 
characters  are  not  provided  in  fonts  of  book  type.1 

1  Notation  by  numerals  may  When  the  compositor  is  required 

be  confusing,  for  the  use  of  the  to  put  a  date  in  roman  numerals, 

same  letter  as  an  adding  or  sub-  he  should  prefer  the  combina- 

tracting  factor  allows  opportu-  tions  that  require  few  letters: 

nity  for  puzzling  combinations.  MCM  is  better  than  MDCCCC. 


Ungainliness  of  early  arable  figures      89 

Roman  numerals  had  to  be  used  by  the  first  printers 
because  they  had  no  arable  figures.  These  figures 
were  first  used  in  1471  by  Ther  Hoernen,  but  they 
did  not  obtain  a  general  acceptance  for  many  years 
after.  They  were  irregular  in  form  and  bad  mates 
for  the  roman  capital  letters.  These  unsymmetrical 
characters  were  bettered  but  slowly,  still  remaining 

1    t  •  ?    A  ;  4  •  *    1    *  •  A  •  -g  •  i    0 

123445567  890 

Fifteenth  century. 

1234567890 

Old  style. 

I  234^67890 

Didot  style. 

1234567890 

Modern. 

objectionably  uncouth  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  figures  i,  2,  and  o  were  made  small 
and  low,  and  all  other  figures  were  put  above  or 
below  the  line.  For  table-work  all  the  figures  were 
cast  upon  the  en  body.  This  left  them  insignificant 
when  they  were  used  in  a  line  of  capitals.  What 
mismating  of  characters  can  be  worse  than  this  ? 

YEAR    165    OF   THE    HEJIRA 

It  was  the  weakness  and  the  uneven  alignment  of 
the  arabic  figures  made  for  old-style  fonts  that  com- 
pelled printers  to  use  bolder-faced  roman  numerals 
for  all  title-pages,  chapter  headings,  dedications, 


90          Numerals  for  chapter  headings 

inscriptions,  and  every  other  part  of  a  book  that  was 
required  to  be  composed  largely  in  capital  letters.1 

NUMERALS   FOR  CHAPTER  HEADINGS,   ETC. 

Roman  numerals  are  often  used  to  specify  parts 
and  chapters.  The  numeral  used  in  a  chapter  head- 
ing generally  has  the  word  chapter  before  it,  as 

CHAPTER  I  CHAPTER   III 

but  the  continued  repetition  of  the  word  chapter 
seems  as  unnecessary  in  this  position  as  the  word 
page  before  paging  figures.  Some  printers  sup- 
press the  word  chapter  (always  understood)  to  give 
the  required  prominence  to  the  numeral.  Arabic 
figures  following  the  word  chapter  should  be  as 
broad  and  as  prominent  as  the  letters  of  the  word. 
Sections,  pages,  paragraphs,  and  verses  are  usu- 
ally marked  with  arabic  figures,  but  numerals  of 
roman  small  capitals  are  preferred  for  cantos  or 
stanzas  of  poetry.  Numerals  in  roman  lower-case 
are  the  rule  for  the  paging  of  prefaces  and  some- 

l  Old-style  arabic  figures  that  signs  the  crooked  Greek  letters, 
are  clear  enough  when  embedded  Old-style  figures  in  all  tables  set 
in  a  lower-case  text  are  not  fairly  in  a  broad  measure,  especially 
clear  when  set  solid  in  the  col-  when  the  columns  of  figures  are 
umns  of  a  table,  for  the  figures  separated  by  a  broad  blank  from 
in  different  lines  are  sometimes  the  words  that  show  their  mean- 
too  close  and  need  the  separation  ing,  are  too  compact;  they  in- 
of  a  lead  to  give  them  proper  dis-  terfere,  and  confuse  the  reader, 
tinctiveness.  Sometimes,  how-  Figures  of  greater  height  than 
ever,  irregularity  in  figures  is  a  the  round  lower-case  letters  need 
merit.  It  is  for  unevenness  that  leads  between  lines  to  produce 
writers  on  astronomy  prefer  for  the  clearness  desired. 


Numerals  for  magnates  and  centuries      91 

times  of  introductions.  Book  titles,  dedications, 
and  formal  printed  pieces  which  require  an  occa- 
sional use  of  numbers  usually  present  these  num- 
bers in  the  form  of  roman  numerals,  but  this  is  not 
obligatory.  The  date  line  of  the  title-page  of  the 
ordinary  book  is  frequently  in  arabic  figures. 

The  numbers  of  the  chapter  headings  in  a  table 
of  contents  are  put  in  roman  numerals,  usually  in 
capitals,  but  sometimes  in  small  capitals. 

NUMERALS   FOR  MAGNATES  AND   CENTURIES 

The  numerical  part  of  the  names  of  magnates  is 
usually  put  in  capital  letters,  and  the  name  proper 
is  kept  in  lower-case,  as  Gregory  IX,  Henry  VIII, 
etc. ;  but  the  large  size  and  the  frequent  recur- 
rence of  these  capitals  seriously  disfigure  a  page 
that  has  many  names  of  like  character.  To  avoid 
this  blemish,  small  capitals  may  be  preferred  when 
they  are  a  trifle  higher  than  the  round  letters  of  the 
lower-case  and  are  sufficiently  large  and  distinct. 
They  should  not  be  used  when  they  are  not  higher 
and  are  condensed  or  compacted. 

Centuries  and  dynasties  are  often  specified  by 
numerals  in  capital  letter^,  as  in  XlXth  century, 
XXIId  dynasty ;  but  the  undue  prominence  of  the 
roman  numerals  in  a  lower-case  text  is  a  needless 
blemish.  Small  capitals  when  sufficiently  large  may 
be  substituted  with  advantage. 

Many  writers  make  use  of  spelled-out  words  in 


92      Numerals  and  figures  for  foot-notes 

place  of  roman  numerals.  The  phrase  nineteenth 
century  is  now  more  common  than  XlXth  cen- 
tury. The  phrases  sixteenth  Louis,  Gregory  the 
fourth,  and  twenty-second  dynasty  may  displease 
some  readers  by  their  novelty,  but  it  is  probable 
that  they  will  supplant  the  older  form. 

It  is  customary  in  many  printing-houses  to  put 
a  period  after  the  numerical  part  of  the  name. 
The  need  of  the  period  in  this  position  has  never 
been  satisfactorily  explained,  for  XIX  is  no  more 
of  an  abbreviation  than  19,  but  it  is  unsafe  for  the 
compositor  to  suppress  it  unless  so  requested.  The 
period  is  not  used  with  the  numerals  employed  to 
page  a  preface,  nor  for  Part  II  or  Canto  IV,  nor 
for  [chapter]  xx,  [page]  375,  as  in  a  foot-note.  A 
few  old  printers  did,  however,  rate  figures  as  ab- 
breviations.1 

Reference  figures  need  not  be  separated  from  the 
text  by  the  marks  of  parenthesis,  as  in  (1)  or  1). 
The  marks  so  used  may  be  more  prominent  than 
old-style  figures,  and  can  serve  no  useful  purpose. 
When  the  type  selected  for  text  and  notes  is  small, 
a  figure  of  slightly  bolder  face  will  be  more  help- 
ful to  the  reader.2 

1 1  have  seen  old  books  with  figure ;  in  a  broad  measure  the 

the  period  before  and  after  every  em  quadrat  may  be  used.  In  a 

date,  and  even  after  the  arabic  catalogue  of  books  hanging  in- 

figures  selected  for  the  paging  dention  should  be  preferred,  so 

of  leaves.  The  period  seems  a  that  the  figure  that  denotes  the 

useless  nicety  in  this  position.  number  of  each  book  shall  pro- 

2  In  a  narrow  measure  the  en  ject  into  the  margin  and  readily 

quadrat  may  come  after  the  be  seen  by  the  reader. 


Figures  without  points  in  versification      93 

NUMERALS   FOR  FOOT-NOTES 

Roman  numerals  of  the  capital,  small-capital,  or 
lower-case  series  are  sometimes  used  to  specify  vol- 
umes, parts,  or  chapters  in  indexes  and  foot-notes. 
The  word  volume  or  chapter  is  rarely  spelled  out 
in  an  index  or  a  note,  or  even  abbreviated  to  vol. 
or  ch.,  for  it  is  supposed  that  the  size,  shape,  and 
position  of  the  numeral  will  distinguish  it  from 
other  abbreviations,  as  it  does  in  xi,  63,  which  is 
intended  to  express  chapter  xi,  page  63.  (See  Ab- 
breviations.) The  numerals  used  for  the  paging  of 
prefaces  and  introductions  should  be  of  the  roman 
lower-case  series.  The  lower-case  and  the  small- 
capital  letters  I,  v,  x,  closely  resemble  each  other, 
and  it  is  safer  to  make  use  of  the  lower-case  letters 
only  for  the  foot-notes  where  this  treatment  is  possi- 
ble. This  is  one  of  many  reasons  why  small  capitals 
should  be  made  higher  and  wider  than  the  round 
letters  of  the  lower-case  and  be  a  proper  interme- 
diate between  that  series  and  the  series  of  capitals. 

FIGURES  IN   VERSIFICATION 

When  figures  are  used  at  the  beginning  of  para- 
graphs, or  to  number  verses  or  other  subdivisions, 
the  period  is  not  needed  after  the  figure.  See  the 
paragraphing  of  the  Bible  and  the  versification  of 
all  hymn-books. 


ITALIC 

[NE  line  drawn  underneath  any  written 
word  is  understood  as  a  direction  to 
put  that  word  in  italic.  This  under- 
scoring should  be  done  by  the  writer 
wherever  italic  is  really  needed.  A 
general  direction  to  put  in  italic  a  class  of  words 
not  so  marked  may  not  be  understood  when  copy 
so  neglected  has  to  be  set  by  many  compositors. 
In  the  sixteenth  century  italic  was  an  approved 
letter  for  book  texts ;  it  is  now  seldom  selected  for 
that  purpose,  although  frequently  used  for  sub- 
headings, running  titles,  important  texts  or  para- 
graphs, and  sometimes  for  prefaces.  Authors  of  the 
eighteenth  century  made  free  use  of  italic  not  only 
as  an  emphasizing  letter,  but  to  enforce  nice  and 
needless  distinctions  between  different  kinds  of 
subject-matter,  as  may  be  noticed  in  the  following 


Improper  use  of  italic  95 

extract  from  Hansard's  Typograpliia  (page  373), 
in  which  book  that  author  literally  quotes  this  pas- 
sage from  Nelson's  Fasts  and  Festivals. 

Q.   What  icas  the  form  of  St.  Andrew's  Cross  ? 

A.  The  Instrument  of  his  Martyrdom  is  commonly 
said  to  have  been  something  peculiar  in  the 
Form  of  the  letter  X,  being  a  Cross  decussate, 
two  Pieces  of  Timber  crossing  each  other  in 
the  Middle :  And  hence  known  by  the  Name 
of  St.  Andrew's  Cross. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  no  want  of 
method  in  this  arrangement.  1.  The  Questions 
to  be  Italic  the  answers  Roman ;  but  the  Q.  and 
the  A.  to  be  reversed,  viz.  the  Q.  to  be  Roman  for 
the  Italic,  and  the  A.  to  be  Italic  for  the  Roman. 
2.  All  substantives  to  be  capitaled  ;  all  noun-sub- 
stantives to  be  Italic  in  the  Roman  part,  and 
Roman  in  the  Italic  part,  this  not  to  extend  to 
the  sign  of  the  genitive  case,  as  the  letter  s  is  to 
be  the  reverse.  Also  particular  words  to  be  dis- 
tinguished contrary  wise. —  The  labour  to  a  com- 
positor, and  also  the  reader,  on  such  a  work  as 
this,  will  be  little  short  of  that  required  upon  a 
work  of  which  he  understands  not  a  single  word, 
and  the  book,  when  printed,  exhibits  a  motley 
appearance  of  Roman  and  Italic,  capitals  and 
lower-case,  till  those  who  are  not  sufficient  judges 
of  typography  to  know  the  cause,  wonder  why 
the  page  is  so  confused  and  tiresome  to  the  eye. 

Since  1825  the  reading  world  has  outgrown  this 
artificial  method  of  using  italic,  but  it  still  adheres 
to  other  methods  that  are  as  illogical. 


96          Mismating  of  italic  ivith  roman 

ITALIC  IN  COPY  NOT  ALWAYS  TO   BE  REPEATED 

The  free  use,  or  even  the  moderate  use,  of  italic 
for  emphasis  in  a  text  is  now  regarded  as  an  exhi- 
bition of  bad  taste  on  the  part  of  the  writer  and  a 
needless  affront  to  the  intelligence  of  the  reader. 
For  this  reason  the  compositor  should  not  servilely 
follow  copy  in  its  markings  for  italic.  The  undis- 
ciplined writer  usually  regrets  profuse  italicizings 
when  he  sees  their  effect  in  the  proof.  In  case  of 
doubt  special  instructions  either  to  follow  or  to 
change  overmarked  italic  should  be  obtained  from 
the  foreman  or  the  proof-reader.  If  seven  per  cent, 
of  the  words  in  a  manuscript  is  marked  for  italic, 
its  composition  cannot  be  done  to  advantage  on 
the  ordinary  type-setting  machine.  When  ten  per 
cent,  or  more  is  italicized,  the  compositor  by  hand 
rightfully  claims  an  extra  price  for  the  additional 
labor  it  imposes. 

ITALIC  NOT  ALWAYS  A  MATE  FOR  ROMAN 

Italic  was  made  objectionable  to  critical  readers 
by  its  frequent  mismating  with  roman.  When  a 
thin  italic  of  light  face  was  made  the  emphasizing 
character  for  a  text  in  a  bold-faced  roman,  the  in- 
congruity of  the  unlike  styles  was  apparent,  and  this 
led  to  a  general  dislike  of  all  italics.  Type-setting 
machines  constructed  without  proper  provision  for 
the  composition  of  italic  have  been  more  effectual 


Misuse  of  italic  for  foreign  phrases       97 

than  any  other  agency  in  curtailing  its  use.  Italic 
is  rarely  seen  in  the  text  of  the  reading-matter  of 
the  ordinary  daily  newspaper,  for  experience  has 
proved  that  it  is  not  needed  as  much  as  was  sup- 
posed for  emphasis  or  distinctness  of  statement. 
Yet  it  is  not  out  of  fashion  in  book-work,  being 
used  for  running  titles  and  subheadings,  and  to 
some  extent  in  the  text  to  differentiate  words  or 
phrases  that  might  be  misunderstood ;  but  it  is  not 
used  so  freely  as  it  has  been  to  mark  the  emphatic 
words  and  examples  of  educational  books.  It  has 
been  found  that  the  profuse  commingling  of  an 
upright  and  an  inclined  letter  irritates  the  eye,  con- 
fuses perception,  and  makes  the  page  hard  to  read 
and  understand.  A  light-faced  antique  of  round 
or  slightly  compressed  form  has  been  found  more 
acceptable  than  italic  for  distinctions  in  the  text. 


FOREIGN  WORDS  AND  PHRASES 

Words  and  phrases  in  foreign  languages  are  not 
put  in  italic  so  frequently  as  they  were  a  hundred 
years  ago,  but  if  the  compositor  finds  italic  clearly 
marked  in  the  manuscript  of  a  disciplined  writer, 
he  should  obey  this  direction.  Yet  there  are  many 
good  book-houses  that  forbid  the  use  of  italic  for 
the  short  sentences  of  the  following  examples : 

This  inscription  was  on  the  tablet :  Dulce  et  decorum 
est  pro  patria  mori. 


98  German  authors  dislike  italic 

Caesar  wrote  :   Veni,  vidi,  vid. 

Qui  vit  sans  folie  n'est  pas  si  sage  qu'il  croit.     Most 
true,  you  spiteful  critic. 

Sentences  like  these  do  not  need  italic  or  quota- 
tion-marks. The  selection  of  the  colon,  the  change 
from  English  to  a  foreign  language,  the  beginning 
of  the  quotation  with  a  capital  letter,  the  context, 
and  the  occasional  but  improper  use  of  quotation- 
marks,  are  enough  to  make  it  apparent  that  the 
foreign  words  are  quotations.  To  set  an  entire 
paragraph  of  the  quoted  matter  of  a  foreign  lan- 
guage in  italic,  or  even  to  select  it  too  freely  for 
phrases,  practically  nullifies  its  value  as  a  display 
letter  for  the  subheadings  or  for  any  other  part  of 
the  book  in  which  distinction  is  really  needed. 

Words  and  short  phrases  quoted  from  Greek  or 
German  are  usually  set  in  roman  between  quota- 
tion-marks ;  but  if  the  quoted  word  or  phrase  is 
made  the  text  or  subject  of  fine  verbal  criticism,  it 
should  be  put  in  the  proper  character  of  its  own 
language.  To  the  critical  German  author  italic  is 
offensive  as  it  appears  in  this  sentence : 

The  connection  with   potamos  and  with  posis  is 

equivocal  and  insufficient. 
The  connection  with  noTa^oq  and  with  nooiq  is 

equivocal  and  insufficient. 

Greek  characters,  as  they  are  shown  in  the  second 
example,  should  be  preferred  to  those  of  italic. 


Verses  and  phrases  in  italic  99 

When  an  entire  paragraph  or  a  long  sentence  in 
a  foreign  language  is  quoted  in  full,  the  quotation- 
marks  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  quoted  matter 
is  not  a  part  of  the  text.  Italic  is  not  needed,  but 
bibliographers  who  habitually  select  italic  for  the 
citations  of  books  prefer  that  character  for  all  quo- 
tations, whether  they  do  or  do  not  make  an  entire 
paragraph.  The  verse  that  follows  is  in  the  style 
preferred  by  Pollard1  in  his  reprint  of  the  colophon 
of  an  edition  of  Bartolus  de  Saxoferrato  on  the  Di- 
gests of  Justinian,  printed  by  Windelin  of  Speyer : 

Si  correcta  voles  digesta  evolvere  legum, 
Hec  erne,  quae  nulla  carpere  parte  potes. 

Perlege :  non  parvo  sunt  emendata  Idbore. 
Nil  nisi  correctum  vendere  Spira  jubet. 

One  revival  of  an  old  fashion  in  typography  is  the 
selection  of  italic  in  modern  books  for  bits  of  verse 
between  paragraphs  in  the  text  of  roman,  but  it  is 
not  a  fashion  to  be  commended. 

An  unusual  word  or  a  short  phrase  in  a  foreign 
language,  even  when  it  is  accompanied  by  a  trans- 
lation, is  sometimes  required  to  be  set  in  italic,  as  in 

It  was  a  simple  chaise,  a  due  posti,  neither  new 

nor  neat. 

The  metayer  system  is  not  beneficial  to  the  farmer. 
We  had  our  dejeuner  a  la  fourchette  as  early  as 

eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

1  Last  Words  on  the  History  of  the  Title  Page,  etc.,  p.  11. 


100          Words  that  do  not  need  italic 

Why  these  words  should  be  set  in  italic,  why  a  due 
posti  would  not  be  equally  clear  in  quotation-marks 
or  in  parentheses,  why  metayer  should  not  be  in 
quotation-marks,  are  questions  not  to  be  answered 
satisfactorily,  but  when  it  is  the  plain  order  of  the 
author  to  set  phrases  or  words  like  these  in  italic, 
that  direction  must  be  obeyed.  There  are  foreign 
words,  used  for  the  first  time,  that  need  some  dis- 
tinction, and  there  are  others  that  have  no  proper 
equivalents  in  English.  Here  follows  a  sentence  in 
which  the  use  of  italic  seems  to  be  regarded  by  the 
writer  as  not  only  admissible  but  commendable : 

He  was  told  that  she  was  very  unhappy,  pour  lui  et 
par  lui,  and  that  his  attentions  had  been  com- 
promettant  to  her  prospects  as  well  as  destructive 
to  her  peace. 

Pour  lui  et  par  lui  and  compromettant  have  satis- 
factory equivalents  in  English,  but  these  equiva- 
lents do  not  convey  the  alliteration  and  the  play 
on  words  intended  by  the  writer. 

There  is  increasing  resistance  to  the  excessive 
use  of  italic.  The  foreign  words  and  phrases  that 
have  been  practically  incorporated  in  the  English 
language  are  now  preferably  put  in  roman,  as  in 


aide-de-camp 
addenda 

alma  mater 
anno  domini 

billet-doux 
bona  fide 

ad  valorem 

ante-bellum 

bon-ton 

alias 
alibi 

a  propos 
beau  ideal 

bravos 
cafe 

Words  that  do  not  need  italic 


101 


cantos 

entrepdt 

per  capita 

carte  blanche 

erratum 

per  cent. 

chapeau 

et  cetera 

per  centum 

chaperon 

facsimile 

per  se 

charge  d'affaires 

fete 

post-mortem 

chiaroscuro 

finis 

pro  rata 

cicerone 

gratis 

protege 

contra 

imprimatur 

quondam 

corrigenda 

innuendo 

regime 

data 

literati 

rendezvous 

debris 

mandamus 

role 

debut 

manoeuvre 

savants 

depot 

mignonette 

seraglio 

diarrhoea 

naive 

sobriquet 

dictum 

olla  podrida 

ultimatum 

dilettante 

onus 

verbatim 

dramatis  per- 

paterfamilias 

vice 

sonae 

patois 

vice  versa 

ennui 

per  annum 

viva  voce 

This  list  could  be  largely  extended.  Any  word  of 
foreign  origin  which  appears  as  an  English  word 
in  an  approved  English  dictionary,  by  that  adop- 
tion ceases  to  be  foreign,  and  should  not  be  set  in 
italic  unless  it  is  so  ordered  by  the  author. 

Foreign  words  that  are  familiar  to  all  intelligent 
readers  do  not  need  italic.  The  accents  should  be 
repeated  when  they  are  so  marked  in  copy,  "but 
their  omission  in  words  like  depot  and  role  when 
set  in  roman  is  a  common  practice. 
7 


102  Italic  preferred  for  citations  of  books 

The  following  words  or  phrases  usually  appear  in 
italic,  with  their  proper  accents : 


ab  ovo 

en  passant 

locum  tenens 

ancien  regime 

fait  accompli 

mise  en  scene 

Mte  noire 

grand  monde 

noblesse  oblige 

comme  ilfaut 

hors  de  combat 

raison  d'etre 

de  quoi  vivre 

inter  alia 

sans  ceremonie 

de  trop 

jeu  d'  esprit 

tour  deforce 

The  phrases  prima  facie  and  ex  officio,  when  used 
to  qualify  the  nouns  that  follow,  are  frequently  put 
in  roman ;  but  when  used  as  adverbs  they  may  be 
set  in  italic.  The  compositor  may  need  from  the 
proof-reader  special  instruction  for  these  cases. 

Prima-facie  evidence. 
The  evidence  is,  prima  fade,  convincing. 
An  ex-officio  member  of  the  committee. 
The  Speaker  is,  ex  officio,  the  chairman. 

Note  also  that  these  words  may  be  connected  with 
a  hyphen  when  they  are  used  as  qualifiers. 

In  works  on  bibliography  the  titles  of  all  books 
specified  in  the  text  are  usually  put  in  italic,  as : 

Storia  Critica  de  Nic.  Jenson. 
Lettres  d'un  Bibliographe. 
Hints  on  Decorative  Printing. 

This  method,  approved  by  all  bibliographers,  is  to 
be  preferred*  to  the  commoner  practice  of  setting 
titles  in  roman  and  inclosing  them  with  quotation- 


Italic  for  names  of  periodicals         103 

marks.  A  different  method  is  observed  for  foot- 
notes, not  only  by  bibliographers,  but  by  modern 
historians :  the  name  of  the  author,  the  title  of  the 
book,  and  the  date  and  description  are  always  set  in 
roman  lower-case,  without  the  use  of  small  capitals, 
italic,  or  quotation-marks. 

1  Sardini,  Storia  Critiea  de  Nic.  Jenson,  Lucca,   1796-98 
(3  parts),  8vo,  p.  19. 

2  Madden,   Lettres  d'un  Bibliographe,   Paris,    1886,   8vo, 
sixieme  serie,  p.  116. 

3  Savage,  Hints  on  Decorative  Printing,  London,  1882,  4to, 
chap.  ii. 

In  the  texts  of  magazines  and  journals,  and  in  all 
ordinary  book-work,  the  titles  of  cited  books  are 
frequently  and  needlessly  put  in  roman  lower-case 
between  quotation-marks,  as  in 

"  Introduction  to  the  Classics,"  vol.  ii,  p.  555. 
"  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  1793,  p.  91. 

The  full  names  of  magazines  and  newspapers  were 
formerly  always  set  in  italic,  but  they  often  appear 
now  in  roman  lower-case  quoted.1  A  recent  prac- 
tice is  to  select  italic  for  the  name  (but  not  always 
the  place)  of  the  paper,  as  London  Times  or  New 

1  Some  editors  still  adhere  to  the  specification  of  the  article 

the  old  usage,  putting  the  name  could  be  made  equally  clear  by 

of  the  book  or  magazine  in  italic,  using  roman  lower-case  for  the 

and  reserving  quotation-marks  name  or  title,  and  beginning  each 

for  the  heading  of  any  article  important  word  with  a  capital 

referred  to  in  the  publication,  letter,  as  has  been  the  custom  for 

This  is  a  nice  distinction,  but  the  specification  of  book  titles. 


104          Italic  for  characters  in  plays 

York  Herald.1  One  old  tradition  is  maintained :  the 
paper  or  magazine  that  prints  its  own  name  in  its 
text  does  so  with  small  capitals. 

Names  of  vessels,  as  the  Kearsarge  or  the  Ala- 
bama, are  frequently  put  in  italic.  The  intent  of  the 
italic  is  to  differentiate  the  ships  from  the  places. 

Italic  is  often  selected  (too  often  unwisely)  for 
the  names  of  paintings  and  statues,  and  for  char- 
acters in  plays,  apparently  with  intent  to  aid  the 
reader  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  subject. 
In  the  text  of  the  ordinary  book  or  periodical, 
Julius  Caesar,  the  man  of  history,  is  always  set  in 
roman ;  but  Julius  Caesar  as  a  personage  in  a 
play  is  usually  set  in  italic.  In  these  attempts 
to  help,  profuse  italic  defeats  the  purpose  of  the 
writer;  it  spots  the  text,  disfigures  the  page,  and 
irritates  the  reader.2 

PROPER  USE  OF  ITALIC 

Although  italic  often  has  been  misused,  it  cannot 
be  dispensed  with.  It  can  be  made  a  help  to  good 

1  The    definite    article    the,  use  of  italic  for  words  arbitra- 
which  usually  precedes  the  cita-  rily  selected,  see  the  extract  on 
tion  of  a  journal,  need  not  be  page  36,  from  Bowe  Mores's  Ty- 
capitalized,  italicized,  or  put  in  pographical  Founders  and  Foun- 
quotation-marks.       "The  New  deries.  The  Mechanick  Exercises 
York  Herald,"  "The  Evening  of   Joseph   Moxon,    frequently 
Journal,"  are  obsolete  fashions  cited  in  this  book,  is  even  more 
of  citation.     These  papers  are  profuse  in  display.     Excess  of 
oftener  cited  without  quotation-  italic  in  print,  like  false  empha- 
marks,  as  the  New  York  Herald  sis  in  oratory  and  profuse  un- 
or  the  Evening  Journal.  derscorings  in  writing,  does  not 

2  For  an  exhibit  of  a  needless    help  but  hinders  understanding. 


Italic  for  credits  105 

typography.  It  may  be  selected  with  propriety  for 
running  titles,  for  the  headings  of  tables,  for  sub- 
headings, and  for  a  clearer  marking  of  the  words 
and  phrases  that  really  need  distinction  in  the  text. 
The  signature  of  each  contributor  to  a  magazine 
is  usually  set  in  italic,  but  it  is  unwisely  used  for 
side-notes,  for  it  has  many  kerned  or  projecting 
letters,  which  are  liable  to  break  and  often  do  break 
off  at  the  endings  of  lines  in  an  exposed  position. 

Italic  may  be  selected  occasionally  to  distinguish 
the  words  or  clauses  that  serve  as  verbal  texts  for 
an  extended  comment,  but  it  should  not  be  selected 
unless  there  is  real  need  for  making  a  distinction. 
Small  capitals  are  sometimes  used  with  good  effect. 

In  the  text  of  a  book  or  pamphlet,  use  roman  for 
the  name  of  the  writer,  but  italic  for  the  title  of 
the  cited  book.  In  a  citation  that  makes  a  full 
paragraph,  and  in  all  foot-notes,  it  is  the  common 
practice  to  put  the  name  of  the  author  as  well  as 
of  the  book  in  roman  lower-case.  At  the  end  of 
a  paragraph  or  foot-note,  specification  of  author 
and  book  may  be  roman  for  author  and  italic  for 
book ;  book  alone,  italic. 

Select  roman,  without  quotation-marks,  for  the 
names  of  papers,  magazines,  and  serials  appearing 
in  the  body  of  the  text  or  in  a  foot-note,  but  when 
put  at  the  end  of  paragraphs  as  credits,  use  italic. 

When  an  unfamiliar  foreign  word  is  used  to 
convey  precise  description,  put  it  in  italic,  but  use 
roman  for  repetitions  of  that  word. 


106  Latinized  names  of  science 

LATINIZED   NAMES  OF  SCIENCE 

Names  of  diseases,  as  angina  pectoris,  cerebrospi- 
nal  meningitis,  and  of  remedies,  as  mix  vomica, 
cannabis  indica,  are  not  set  in  italic,  nor  does  the 
first  word  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

Ordinary  names  in  geology,  as  quartz,  horn- 
blende, gneiss,  do  not  take  capitals  or  italic;  but 
when  they  are  derived  from  proper  names,  as  De- 
vonian, Jurassic,  a  capital  is  required  for  the  first 
letter,  but  the  word  is  set  in  roman. 

In  botany  and  zoology  the  first  letter  of  a  name 
composed  of  two  words  usually  takes  a  capital,  and 
each  word  is  set  in  italic.  The  first  word  denotes  the 
genus;  the  second,  the  species,— the  generic  and 
specific  names  together  constituting  the  scientific 
name  of  the  animal  or  plant :  as,  Arvicola  ampkib- 
ius.  When  the  second  name  is  derived  from  that  of 
a  person  or  place,  its  first  letter  may  be  capitalized, 
as  in  Delphinus  Sinensis  or  Darlingtonia  Californica. 
When  the  name  of  a  family  or  an  order  is  mentioned, 
the  first  letter  of  the  word  is  usually  capitalized. 

Of  the  Castoridae,  or  beaver  family  of  Rodentia,  we 
have  three  native  species :  the  water-vole  (Arvi- 
cola amphibius),  the  field -vole  (Arvicola  agrestis), 
and  the  bank- vole  (Arvicola  pratensis). 

In  this  illustration  the  words  Castoridae  and  Roden- 
tia denote  respectively  the  family  and  order,  and 
the  three  species  of  Arvicola  the  particular  kind  of 


Names  of  species  in  italic  107 

animal.   When  first  used  all  the  words  should  be  in 
italic.    The  words  Castoridae  or  Rodentia  when  re 
peated  in  the  same  article  may  be  in  roman,  but  the 
names  of  species  should  be  in  italic,  however  often 
repeated.    The  distinction  prevents  confusion. 

Authorities  in  science  differ  as  to  the  use  of  italic 
and  capitals,  but  the  rules  here  given  are  enough 
for  the  uniformity  of  negligently  prepared  copy. 
If  the  compositor  finds  another  method  in  carefully 
prepared  copy,  he  should  observe  that  method. 

Italic  is  frequently  used  for  the  words  of  a  run- 
ning commentary  bracketed  in  the  text.  The  word 
[ftif]  is  often  selected  to  call  attention  to  bad  spell- 
ing or  the  improper  use  of  a  word.  Comments 
set  in  roman  and  put  in  brackets  should  not  need 
greater  distinction. 

Italic  should  be  avoided  in  all  lines  (as  in  date- 
lines and  side-notes)  in  which  upright  figures  are 
used.  The  contrast  between  straight  roman  and 
bent  italic  in  the  same  word  is  unpleasing. 

Quotations  and  extracts  that  make  two  or  more 
lines,  and  really  require  a  special  paragraph,  may  be 
set  in  roman  with  quotation-marks  if  in  the  same 
type  as  the  text,  or  without  them  if  in  smaller  type 
with  blank  at  top  and  bottom.  This  arrangement 
will  be  more  pleasing  than  a  paragraph  of  italic. 

In  book- work,  italic  parentheses  should  not  be 
used  for  inclosing  words  in  italic.  Distinction  is 
sought  for  the  words,  not  for  the  points.  In  dis- 
played job-work  italic  parentheses  may  be  used. 


VI 


CAPITAL  LETTERS 


ETTERS  intended  for  capitals  of  full  size 
are  indicated  in  the  manuscript  by 
underscoring  them  with  three  parallel 
lines.  The  first  word  of  every  full  sen- 
tence should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 
For  the  proper  expression  of  words  correctly  written 
in  English  this  rule  is  invariable,  but  it  should  not 
be  applied,  when  literal  exactness  is  intended,  to  a 
reprint  of  the  incorrect  writing  of  an  illiterate  per- 
son who  does  not  begin  a  sentence  with  a  capital.1 
Every  line  or  verse  of  poetry  should  begin  with  a 


l  There  have  been  even  schol- 
arly men  who  did  not  observe  this 
ruling.  The  English  Typograph- 
ical Founders  and  Founderies  of 
E.  Rowe  Mores  shows  capitals  for 
proper  names  only  and  for  the 
first  letter  of  the  first  sentence 
in  a  paragraph,  but  not  for  the 


first  letters  of  sentences  that 
follow  in  that  paragraph.  (See 
extract  on  page  36 .)  A  quotation 
from  the  book  is  not  fairly  pre- 
sented if  it  does  not  reproduce 
this  mannerism.  In  setting  mat- 
ter with  these  peculiarities  the 
copy  should  be  followed. 


108 


Capitals  for  the  Deity  and  synonyms     109 

capital  letter,  but  this  rule  does  not  apply  to  the 
turned-over  words  of  a  line  or  a  verse  of  too  many 
syllables  for  the  measure.  The  early  printers  of 
Italy  put  small  capitals  at  the  beginning  of  lines 
of  poetry,  and  these  small  capitals  were  separated 
by  a  wide  space  from  the  letters  in  lower-case  that 
followed.  When  literal  exactness  is  intended  in  a 
quotation  this  mannerism  may  be  followed. 

E  /  plebs  in  medijs  latina  campis 
H  orrebat  mala  nauigationes. l 

The  first  letter  of  every  proper  noun  should  have 
a  capital.  Here  the  printer  may  be  puzzled.  John 
Smith  and  James  Brown,  America  and  England, 
are  unmistakably  proper  nouns,  but  there  are  per- 
sonified abstractions,  like  Government,  Goodness, 
Heaven,  etc.,  which  in  some  senses  need  a  capital, 
and  in  others  do  not.  Rules  for  giving  or  withhold- 
ing the  capital  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
remarks. 

THE  DEITY,  SYNONYMS,  AND  PRONOUNS 

The  name  of  the  Deity  in  every  person,  and  in 
every  synonym  or  attribute,  should  begin  with  a 
capital,  as  Father,  Son,  Holy  Ghost,  God,  Lord, 
Jehovah,  Jesus  Christ,  Holy  Spirit,  Saviour,  Al- 
mighty, Heaven,  Creator,  Providence,  etc.  In 
the  Bible  the  words  GOD  and  LORD,  when  they 

l  From  an  edition  of  Statius  by  Aldus,  1502. 


110         Capitals  for  certain  pronouns 

"represent  the  words  substituted  by  Jewish  cus- 
tom for  the  ineffable  Name," l  are  presented  in 
capitals  and  small  capitals,  as  is  here  shown ;  but 
the  gods  and  lords  of  the  heathen  have  not  this 
distinction.  The  pronouns  Thee,  Thou,  and  Thy, 
He,  Him,  and  His,  specifying  God,  always  begin 
with  a  lower-case  letter  in  the  Bible,  but  in  hymn- 
books  and  other  manuals  of  devotion  it  is  usual  to 
give  to  them  a  capital  letter.  The  pronouns  that, 
which,  who,  whose,  and  whom,  referring  to  Deity 
or  divine  attributes,  do  not  take  a  capital  letter. 
The  capitalizing  of  a  pronoun  is  contrary  to  the 
general  rules  of  English  grammar,  but  for  this 
purpose  capitals  have  found  approval  for  many 
years,  and  when  a  compositor  or  proof-reader  finds 
such  pronouns  consistently  capitalized  in  manu- 
script he  should  not  make  or  suggest  their  altera- 
tion to  lower-case  letters. 

The  pronoun  I  and  the  interjection  O  always 
take  a  capital  letter  in  English  writing,  but  oh  does 
not,  except  when  it  begins  a  sentence.  This  rule 
does  not  always  apply  to  Latin,  in  which  the  de- 
nouncing or  appealing  O  should  appear  in  the  form 
of  a  lower-case  letter.2  Sometimes  the  capital  O  has 
been  used  in  famous  editions  of  the  classics,  but  this 
usage  is  not  approved  by  the  best  scholars.  The 
compositor  should  select  the  lower-case  character. 

1  Preface  to  Revised  Version,  16mo,  p.  vi,  edition  of  1885. 

2  Hoceine  seclum  !  o  scelera !  o  genera  sacrilega !  o  hominem 

impium !  Terence,  Adelphi,  III,  ii,  6. 

Adestes  o  Maria,  o  Angele,  o  Patroni  castitatis  meae. 

Libellus  Precum. 


Capitals  for  books,  plays,  and  pictures    111 

DAYS   OF  THE  WEEK   AND  MONTH,  FESTIVALS 
AND   HISTORIC  DAYS 

The  proper  names  of  the  days  of  the  week  and  of 
the  months  of  the  year  should  always  begin  with  a 
capital.  This  rule  is  amplified  to  include  the  days 
of  feasts  and  fasts,  festivals  and  holidays,  whether 
they  are  for  religious  or  civic  observance,  as : 


Arbor  Day 
Ascension 
Bank  Holiday 
Christmas 
Decoration  Day 

Easter 
Fast  Day 
Fourth  of  July 
Good  Friday 
Labor  Day 

Lady  Day 
New  Year's 
Thanksgiving 
Whitsunday 
Whitsuntide 

Appellations  attached  to  historic  days,  even  when 
they  are  of  merely  temporary  importance,  as  Black 
Friday,  must  be  rated  as  proper  names  and  should 
take  a  capital. 

Do  not  capitalize  O'Clock  in  any  lower-case  text 
that  seems  to  call  for  some  form  of  modified  dis- 
play ;  always  make  it  o'clock.  This  remark  applies 
also  to  such  names  as  John  o'  Groat,  Tarn  o'  Shan- 
ter,  etc. :  in  all  names  so  compounded  the  o'  should 
be  small  and  separated  from  the  following  word. 

TITLES  OF  BOOKS,  PERIODICALS,  PLAYS, 
AND  PICTURES 

The  title  of  every  book,  periodical,  play,  or  picture 
that  is  mentioned  in  the  text  should  always  begin 


112        Capitals  for  books  and  headings 

with  a  capital  letter,  and  every  important  word  of 
the  title  so  described  is  usually  capitalized,1  as : 

Maxwell's  Advanced  Lessons  in  English  Grammar. 

the  New- York  Tribune. 

Watson's  History  of  the  Art  of  Printing. 

Blades's  How  to  Tell  a  Caxton. 

Sheridan's  School  for  Scandal. 

Dore's  Christ  Leaving  the  Pretorium. 

In  long  or  complex  titles  the  nouns  always  may  be 
capitalized ;  important  verbs,  participles,  and  adjec- 
tives usually;  articles,  prepositions,  and  conjunc- 
tions rarely  or  never.  This  rule  is  usually  applied 
not  only  to  the  titles  of  books  and  plays,  but  of 
every  form  of  literary  or  artistic  work,  large  or 
small,  even  to  the  title  of  a  short  newspaper  article. 
When  the  name  of  a  newspaper  or  periodical 
is  cited  in  the  text,  the  definite  article  the  should 
not  have  a  capital,  but  in  the  exact  citation  of  a 
book  title  this  beginning  the  should  be  capitalized. 

According  to  the  Tribune. 

This  appears  in  the  Century. 

We  cannot  praise  The  Revolt  of  Islam. 

Capitals  are  preferred  for  the  composition  of  all 
titles  and  dedications,  the  headings  of  parts  and 
chapters,  and  the  headings  of  many  important 

i  This  is  prevailing  usage,  but  another  method  is 
presented  on  page  127  of  this  work. 


Capitals  for  organized  corporations     113 

minor  portions  of  a  book,1  but  they  should  never 
be  compacted  in  composition.  As  capitals  occupy 
much  more  of  the  type  body,  and  have  no  ascend- 
ing or  descending  strokes  or  lines  to  break  up  their 
monotony,  they  require  a  much  wider  leading  and  a 
broader  spacing  than  are  given  to  text  letters  in 
lower-case. 

Where  one  thin  lead  is  used  between  the  lines  of 
a  lower-case  text,  at  least  two  and  sometimes  three 
leads  are  needed  to  make  consecutive  lines  of  capi- 
tals sufficiently  readable.  This  method  is  approved 
by  the  publishers  of  all  modern  books.2 

TITLES  OF  CORPORATIONS 

The  first  word  and  the  leading  words  of  the  titles 
of  corporations,  and  of  all  organized  assemblies  or 
societies,  should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

The  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  New  York. 
The  Senate  and  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  Society  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor. 

When,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  the  full  title  of  a 
corporate  body  is  not  given,  but  is  shortened,  as 

1  For  Capitals  express  Dignity,  ing  the  fashion  of  a  few  of  the 
where  -  ever  they  are  Set,  and  early  printers,  who  had  not  then 
Space  and  Distance  also  implies  learned  the  value  of  leads,  he 
stateliness.    Joseph  Moxon,  Me-  recommended  that  all  words  be 
chanick  Exercises,  p.  225.  close  spaced  and  lines  be  kept 

2  William  Morris  of  the  Kelms-  close  together,  making  no  excep- 
cott  Press  held  to  a  different  tion  for  lines  of  capitals.    For  an 
practice,  which  is  accepted  by  illustration  of  the  two  methods, 
some  of  his  disciples.     Follow-  see  page  203  of  this  book. 


114  Capitals  for  titles  of  honor 

the  Senate,  the  Assembly,  the  Chamber  (of  Com- 
merce), the  Company,  the  Club,  and  it  is  clearly 
intended  that  the  word  so  selected  is  to  apply  to  a 
particular  organization,  the  capital  letter  always 
should  be  selected.  This  rule  is  to  be  observed  in 
printing  the  abbreviated  name  of  every  organiza- 
tion or  association  when  it  is  intended  to  specify 
a  particular  association,  as  the  Synod,  the  Conven- 
tion, the  Union,  the  Typothetse,  the  Parliament, 
the  State,  the  Government. 

These  words,  and  all  other  words  of  like  nature, 
need  not  take  a  capital  when  they  are  not  intended 
to  specify  one  association  only.  A  state,  a  govern- 
ment, or  a  convention  is  but  a  common  noun  and 
needs  no  capital.  The  State,  the  Government,  or 
the  Convention,  when  used  to  identify  one  corpo- 
rate body  only,  becomes  the  synonym  of  a  proper 
noun  and  should  have  the  capital.  The  general 
rule  to  be  deduced  is  that  corporate  bodies  denned 
by  the  definite  article  the  need  a  capital,  while 
those  that  follow  the  indefinite  article  a  or  an 
should  not  have  a  capital. 

TITLES  OF  HONOR  OR  DISTINCTION 

Titles  of  distinction  that  immediately  precede  the 
name  of  a  person  should  begin  with  a  capital  let- 
ter. No  change  to  a  lower-case  letter  should  be 
made  when  the  title  has  to  be  applied  to  an  office 
or  official  of  no  conventional  dignity. 


Capitals  for  titles  of  honor  115 

President  Harrison's  first  pension  agent  was   . 

Corporal  James  Tanner. 
A  plan  sanctioned  by  President  Cleveland. 
Engineer  Roberts  Mr.  Robinson 

Janitor  Jones  Officer  Jenkins 

Messrs.  R.  Hoe  &  Co.  Queen  Victoria 

When  the  title  of  an  official  follows  his  name,  the 
capital  need  not  be  used  in  good  book-work  for 
the  first  letter  of  that  title,  but  it  is  frequently  so 
used  in  newspapers  and  advertising  pamphlets  as 
a  method  of  modified  display.  Copy  so  capitalized 
should  be  followed,  but  this  method  of  using  the 
capital  letters  is  not  recommended. 

James  G.  Elaine,  secretary  of  state. 
Alexis,  grand  duke  and  envoy  extraordinary. 
C.  B.  Farwell,  ex-senator  from  Illinois. 
William  Gedney,  first  lieutenant,  Company  I. 
Frank  Wood,  roundsman,  Broadway  squad. 

A  too  frequent  use  of  capital  letters  for  titles  spots 
the  page  and  makes  the  titles  much  more  prominent 
than  the  names ;  yet  capitals  must  be  used  if  so 
requested  by  the  author.  One  rule  should  prevail 
for  all  appended  titles,  but  the  selection  of  a  capital 
should  not  depend  upon  the  relative  rank  of  the 
person.  This  rule  is  too  often  set  aside.  In  official 
documents  it  is  common  to  capitalize  the  titles  of 
potentates,  even  when  they  follow  the  name. 

Victoria,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Queen  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  Empress  of  India,  Defender 
of  the  Faith,  etc. 


116   Capitals  for  complimentary  salutations 

In  formal  and  ceremonious  letters  or  addresses  to 
dignitaries,  in  which  neither  the  name  nor  the  full 
title  of  the  person  addressed  is  specifically  men- 
tioned, it  is  customary  to  capitalize  the  synonym 
and  its  preceding  pronoun  in  the  salutation,  as : 

Your  Grace  Your  Honor         Your  Majesty 

Your  Reverence      Your  Royal  Highness,  etc. 

When  only  the  title  of  a  person  is  mentioned,  pre- 
ceded by  the  article  the,  and  the  context  shows 
that  this  title  is  intended  for  one  person  only,  it 
should  have  a  capital,  as  the  Pope,  the  President, 
the  Sultan,  the  Czar,  the  Chief-justice.  The  capi- 
tal should  not  be  selected  when  the  context  shows 
that  the  title  is  not  intended  for  one  person,  but 
may  be  applied  to  two  or  more  persons. 

"When  complimentary  salutations  appear,  not  at 
the  beginning,  but  within  the  text,  of  a  sentence 
or  paragraph  of  dialogue  matter,  as  sir,  my  lord, 
madam,  your  honor,  they  do  not  take  a  capital. 

A  title  distinctly  intended  as  the  synonym  of  a 
particular  person  thereby  becomes  a  proper  noun, 
and  should  be  capitalized. 

Good  morning,  General. 
Mr.  Speaker,  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 
He  sent  his  credentials  to  the  President. 
The  Sultan  proceeded  in  state  to  the  mosque. 

Two  capitals  are  not  needed  in  a  compound  title,  as : 

Major-general  Merritt.     Ex-president  Cleveland. 
Chief -justice  Fuller.          Vice-president  Little. 


Capitals  following  proper  names       117 

It  is  the  commoner  usage  to  provide  a  capital  for 
each  title,  but  one  capital  should  be  enough  for  a 
compounded  title.  When  two  capitals  precede  the 
name  of  a  man,  they  make  that  name  relatively 
insignificant,  but  if  double  capitalizing  is  syste- 
matic in  copy,  the  compositor  should  not  alter. 
Abbreviated  titles  of  honor  or  of  respect  imme- 
diately following  a  name  should  have  capitals. 

John  Smith,  Esq. 
Robert  Southard,  D.D. 
Henry  Armitage,  LL.D. 

The  observance  of  this  rule  gives  a  very  unsightly 
appearance  to  a  page  when  the  person  mentioned 
has  many  honorary  titles,  as  in 

Robert  W.  Rogers,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.G.S. 

In  this  example  the  titles  have  more  prominence 
than  the  man,  and  shabbily  spot  the  page  of  text. 
Small  capitals  are  neater,  but  they  should  not  be 
used  without  the  permission  of  the  author,  pub- 
lisher, or  editor.  Jr.  and  sr.  need  not  take  a  capi- 
tal in  lower-case  text  matter,  but  if  an  author  does 
so  capitalize,  follow  his  copy. 

In  the  composition  of  the  leading  display  line  of 
a  book  title,  the  titles  of  honor  put  after  a  name 
are  often  an  annoyance  by  their  frequent  length 
or  undue  prominence.  Sometimes  the  honorary 
titles  are  put  in  a  small  size  of  the  same  face  and 
justified  in  the  line.  This  treatment  abates  the 

8 


118    Capitals  for  prefixes  and  nicknames 

prominence,  but  puts  the  line  out  of  balance.  A 
much  better  method  is  to  put  honorary  titles,  when 
there  are  many,  in  small  type  in  a  separate  line 
below  the  name,  and  to  spell  out  all  the  words. 

A  title  not  clearly  intended  as  the  synonym  of 
a  specified  person  should  not  begin  with  a  capital. 

He  was  taken  before  a  judge. 

Every  captain  on  the  staff  obtained  his  brevet. 

The  assembly  chamber  was  soon  filled  with  sena- 
tors and  congressmen,  mayors  and  sheriffs,  and 
other  magnates. 

There  is  no  appeal  from  the  High  Court  of  Chan- 
cery. Wards  may  weep,  gay  captains  fume,  ser- 
jeants-at-law protest,  but  a  chancery  judge  is  an 
oracle  with  a  bench  for  a  tripod,  whose  decisions 
oft  are  bare  of  sense  as  the  inarticulate  mutter- 
ings  of  a  Delphic  pythia. 

PREFIXES  AND   NICKNAMES 

Prepositional  words  ushering  foreign  proper  names 
usually  begin  with  a  capital,  as  De  or  D'  in  French ; 
Da,  Delia,  De,  or  Di  in  Italian ;  Van  in  Dutch,  or 
Von  in  German ; l  but  there  are  prefixes  that  do 
not  begin  with  a  capital,  and  when  the  author  sys- 

1  For  French  and  German  se-  with  capital  V  is  correct  when 
lect  the  capital  when  the  name  is  alone,  but  the  capital  V  should 
not  in  full,  as  De  Tocqueville ;  not  appear  in  Ludwig  van  Bee- 
but  when  preceded  by  a  title  or  thoven.  In  Italian  there  is  more 
by  the  baptismal  name,  the  pre-  irregularity :  Edmondo  de  Ami- 
fix  should  be  lower-case,  as  in  M.  cis  is  correct,  but  so  are  Leonardo 
de  Tocqueville.  Van  Beethoven  da  Vi  nci  and  Luca  della  Bobbia. 


Capitals  for  geographical  names       119 

tematically  makes  use  of  the  lower-case  letter  for 
any  one  of  them,  his  usage  must  be  followed.  The 
compositor  who  changes  the  de  of  copy  to  De  in 
type,  fancying  that  De  is  always  proper,  is  in  fault. 

Nicknames  or  disparaging  epithets  when  applied 
to  races  or  castes  are  rarely  capitalized,  as  Creole, 
negro,  coolie,  quadroon,  gipsy. 

The  word  devil  is  sometimes  written  with  a  capi- 
tal when  it  is  obviously  intended  for  the  Devil  of 
the  Bible  and  of  John  Milton.  When  used  in  dia- 
logue matter,  or  as  an  expletive  in  swearing,  the 
capital  is  never  allowed.  Other  names  of  the  devil, 
as  Satan  or  Beelzebub,  always  take  the  capital. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES  AND   QUALIFIERS 

Names  of  all  geographical  zones  or  sections  of  the 
world,  when  used  as  proper  nouns,  take  a  capital, 
as  the  Arctic,  the  Tropics,  the  Levant,  the  Orient. 
Geographical,  national,  or  personal  qualifiers,  when 
used  as  nouns  or  before  nouns  in  common  use  that 
specify  merchandise,  do  not  need  a  capital. 


arctic  ivory 
arras 
castile  soap 
china 
Chinese  blue 
delft 

india  ink 
india  rubber 
levant  (leather) 
levantine  silks 
majolica 
morocco 

prussian  blue 
russia  (leather) 
tropical  plants 
turkey  red 
surah  silk 
wedgwood 

gobelin 


oriental  rugs 


(pottery) 


120       Capitals  for  geographical  names 

In  the  capitalizing  of  qualifying  words  we  meet 
with  many  serious  inconsistencies  that  cannot  be 
defended  or  explained.  We  make  qualifying  words 
directly  derived  from  proper  nouns,  as  French, 
English,  American,  always  begin  with  a  capital. 
Long  usage  has  sanctioned  the  rule  that  gives  the 
qualifier  more  prominence  than  the  noun  to  which 
it  is  subjected,  but  the  rule  is  illogical.  In  the 
catalogues  of  auctioneers,  and  sometimes  in  those 
of  merchants  and  manufacturers,  qualifying  words 
like  French,  Spanish,  German,  Italian,  sometimes 
begin  with  a  lower-case  letter,  and  the  capital  is 
reserved  for  the  noun.  This  agrees  with  French 
usage,  in  which  language  words  of  this  description 
never  take  a  capital.  There  are  writers  of  good 
English  who  follow  the  French  method  in  words 
like  anglicized,  romanized,  frenchified,  and  ameri- 
canized.  Although  not  sanctioned  by  the  diction- 
aries, this  method  is  common. 

Qualifiers  derived  from  proper  names  and  com- 
pounded with  prefixes  or  suffixes,  as  in  transat- 
lantic, cisalpine,  hyperborean,  tropical  or  sub- 
tropical, herculean,  plutonian,  vulcanized,  platonic, 
etc.,  should  not  have  a  capital. 

East,  West,  North,  South,  and  their  compounds 
Northeast,  etc.,  when  used  to  particularize  unde- 
fined geographical  sections,  should  have  a  capital. 
When  used  to  specify  direction  only  (or  as  points 
of  the  compass),  east,  west,  north,  south,  and  their 
compounds  should  not  be  capitalized. 


Capitals  for  geographical  names       121 

The  West  is  an  empire,  poor  as  compared  with 
the  East,  but  rich  in  promise  of  greatness. 

A  representative  of  the  South. 

I  am  going  west. 

The  house  was  fifty  feet  east  from  the  river,  and 
extended  twelve  feet  due  north  of  the  building- 
line. 

The  compass  indicated  south-southwest. 

When  a  geographical  or  a  personal  name  is  used 
to  qualify  another  descriptive  word,  like  street, 
avenue,  river,  road,  lake,  island,  valley,  etc.,  the  capi- 
tal should  be  put  at  the  beginning  of  each  word,  as : 

Bay  of  Fundy  Lafayette  Place 

Chenango  County  Long  Island 

Erie  Canal  Long  Island  Sound 

Governor's  Island  Shenandoah  Valley 

Hudson  River  Railroad  Strait  of  Dover 

When  place,  street,  county,  river,  island,  road,  etc., 
are  used  in  a  generalized  way,  and  not  for  specific 
identification,  they  do  not  take  capitals ;  but  when 
one  place  is  clearly  intended  and  is  usually  so  un- 
derstood, although  the  full  name  of  that  place  is 
not  given,  the  capital  should  be  used. 

I  purpose  making  a  trip  to-morrow  on  the  Sound 

steamer  for  Fall  River. 
The  man  was  sent  to  the  Island. 

When  the  general  name  precedes  the  specific  in 
ordinary  book- work,  as  in  county  of  Westchester, 


122  Capitals  for  religious  and  political  names 

state  of  New  York,  empire  of  Germany,  the  capital 
need  not  be  used  for  the  first  name  of  the  phrase ; 
but  in  legal  documents  and  in  every  writing  of 
formality,  as  well  as  in  all  forms  of  displayed  com- 
position, use  the  capital  for  the  general  as  well  as 
for  the  specific  name. 

HISTORIC,  RELIGIOUS,  AND   POLITICAL  NAMES 

All  important  epochs  or  events  in  history  should 
have  a  capital  for  the  more  prominent  words : 

Civil  War  the  Dark  Ages 

Commencement  Day  the  Elizabethan  Age 

Eocene  Period  the  Middle  Ages 

Great  Reformation  the  Renaissance 

Lord's  Day  the  Deluge 

Parliamentary  Time  the  Captivity 

Peace  of  Utrecht  the  Restoration 

Silurian  Age  the  Advent 
Thirty  Years'  War 

All  religious  denominations  and  political  parties 
should  have  their  names  capitalized,  whether  used 
as  nouns  or  adjectives,  as : 


Catholic 

Nationalist 

Church   (as  an  entity 

Christian 

Parnellite 

or    organized    body, 

Conservative 

Populist 

but    not    always    as 
applying  to  a  build- 

Democrat 

Protestant 

ing) 

Jew,  Jewish 

Radical 

State    (as  applying  to 

Liberal 

Republican 

a  system  of  govern- 
ment, but  not  to  a 

Mohammedan 

Tory 

condition) 

Capitals  for  abstract  qualities         123 

The  capital  should  not  be  selected  for  heathen  or 
pagan,  for  these  words  do  not  sufficiently  specify 
any  particular  belief  or  association. 

Indirect  references  to  the  Bible,  as  in  Scriptures, 
Gospels,  Psalms,  etc.,  should  begin  with  a  capital. 
The  same  rule  should  be  applied  to  important 
divisions  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  as  the 
Collects,  the  Litany,  etc. 

The  words  hell,  purgatory,  and  paradise  are  now 
seldom  capitalized,  but  Hades,  Walhalla,  and  other 
poetical  names  of  a  future  abode  should  have  the 
capital  always. 

ABSTRACT   QUALITIES  PERSONIFIED 

Abstract  qualities,  when  personified  in  exclama- 
tory addresses,  always  should  be  capitalized,  as : 

0  Liberty !  what  crimes  are  committed  in  thy  name ! 
0  Fame  !  thy  smile  forebodes  a  frown. 

Some  writers  give  a  capital  to  an  abstract  quality 
that  is  not  clearly  personified  and  is  not  at  all  ex- 
clamatory, as  War,  Slavery,  Temperance.  This  is 
not  a  wise  use  of  the  capital,  but  it  must  be  copied 
when  the  intent  of  a  writer  is  plain. 

A  youth  to  Fortune  and  to  Fame  unknown. 

And  Scandal  at  her  shot  no  venom'd  shaft. 

Then  Crime  ran  riot. 

Let  Fate  do  her  worst ! 

Now  comes  Peace  to  bless  the  land. 


124        Capitals  as  a  means  of  display 

The  capital  need  not  be  selected  when  the  princi- 
ple or  attribute  does  not  decidedly  represent  active 
agency.  War,  Slavery,  Intemperance,  and  similar 
words  are  erroneously  capitalized  when  they  are 
passive  or  objects  of  action.  The  capital  should 
be  suppressed  when  the  words  are  not  intended 
as  synonyms  of  personified  forces. 

CAPITALS  IN  QUOTATIONS 

In  the  text,  all  quotations  that  are  intended  to  be 
emphatic,  or  that  consist  of  a  complete  sentence, 
should  always  begin  with  a  capital,  as : 

Then  Elijah  said,  Thou  art  the  man. 
The  officers  answered,  Never  man  spake  like  this 
man. 

A  fragmentary  quotation  needs  no  capital,  but  it 
is  the  common  practice  to  inclose  all  short  quota- 
tions in  the  ordinary  quotation-marks,  as : 

The  "  carriage,"  so  called,  was  really  a  wagon. 
The  writer's  account  was  described  as  "  marked  by 
accuracy  and  fairness." 

CAPITALS  AS  A  MEANS  OF  DISPLAY 

In  all  job-work  and  in  some  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines capitals  may  be  used  more  freely  than  in 
good  book-work.  The  writers  of  advertisements, 
pamphlets,  and  circulars  use  capital  letters  as  a 


Free  use  of  capitals  125 

means  of  distinction  or  display  in  the  text,  but 
they  are  seldom  used  consistently.  It  is  a  part 
of  the  duty  of  the  compositor  and  the  proof-reader 
to  try  to  maintain  consistency  in  the  use  of  capi- 
tals, but  this  is  difficult  when  one  abandons  rules 
that  have  proved  useful  in  other  work.  In  cases 
of  doubt  the  capital  may  be  safely  omitted,  for  the 
style  of  an  author  is  seriously  vulgarized  by  an  ex- 
cessive use  of  capitals. 

Capitals  are  largely  used  in  the  nomenclature  of 
different  sciences,  but  under  rules  that  differ  for 
each  science.  The  study  (not  a  cursory  reading) 
of  authoritative  treatises  on  chemistry,  botany, 
medicine,  mineralogy,  etc.,  will  be  required  for  an 
understanding  of  the  different  systems  of  capital- 
izing and  abbreviating  adopted  in  each  of  these 
sciences. 

In  job-work,  and  in  many  kinds  of  catalogue 
and  pamphlet  work,  a  free  use  of  capitals  is  not 
only  permissible  but  necessary.  Precise  rules  for 
these  kinds  of  work  cannot  be  given,  for  they  will 
have  to  be  varied  according  to  the  subject-matter 
and  the  wishes  of  the  publisher  or  writer. 

In  serious  or  standard  books  capitals  should 
not  be  used  too  lavishly  for  marking  emphasis  in 
the  text.  A  projecting  capital  in  a  text  is  like  a 
rock  in  the  current,  for  it  diverts  the  eye  and  inter- 
rupts an  even  stream  of  attention.  For  the  same 
reason,  a  free  use  of  capitals  is  of  service  in  mer- 
cantile blanks  or  catalogues,  when  they  draw  the 


126    Capitals  for  summaries  and  legends 

attention  to  nouns  for  which  notice  is  desired. 
When  capitals  are  used  freely  in  a  text  they  must 
be  used  with  system,  and  the  same  words  or  class 
of  words  should  always  come  under  the  same  rule. 

Compound  words  in  every  line  of  capital  letters 
should  be  connected  with  an  en  dash,  and  not  with 
the  hyphen. 

Some  writers  make  use  of  capitals  as  a  modified 
form  of  display,  or  to  invite  special  attention  to  a 
particular  word  or  words. 

The  Drive,  when  it  has  been  justified  and  fitted  to 
the  mould,  is  known  as  a  Matrix.1 

In  some  kinds  of  descriptive  writing  this  use  of  the 
capital  is  permissible,  but  it  is  unsafe  to  capitalize 
nouns  too  freely,  and  thereby  make  display  where 
display  is  not  needed  and  is  irritating  to  a  reader. 
Exact  writers  never  make  use  of  this  method  of 
marking  emphasis  in  any  scientific  description. 


CAPITALS   IN   SUMMARIES  AND   LEGENDS 

Summaries  of  chapters,  running  titles,  tables  of 
contents,  and  work  of  similar  nature,  including  the 

i  The  words  Drive  and  Matrix  one  of  these  methods  when  it  is 
could  be  put  in  italic  or  in  quo-  specified  for  the  first  time,  but 
tation-marks,  but  this  treatment  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  con- 
would  give  them  a  greater  dis-  tinue  the  use  of  capitals,  italic, 
tinction.  A  word  or  phrase  se-  or  quotation-marks  in  subse- 
lected  for  extended  comment  in  quent  repetitions  of  that  word 
the  text  may  be  treated  by  any  or  phrase. 


Capital  letters  unwisely  used  127 

legend  lines  of  diagrams  and  illustrations,  may  be 
capitalized  by  the  same  rules  that  govern  the  capi- 
talization of  book  titles :  capitals  to  nouns  and  im- 
portant verbs  always ;  to  pronouns,  adjectives,  and 
participles  seldom ;  to  particles  rarely  or  not  at 
all.  This  is  common  usage,  but  a  too  free  use  of 
capital  letters  gives  an  uncouth  appearance  to  long 
summaries  and  legend  lines  that  is  too  suggestive 
of  the  startling  head-lines  of  a  sensational  news- 
paper, or  the  hackneyed  methods  of  the  writer  of 
beguiling  advertisements. 

"  Changing  his  Plans,  He  Throws  Himself  upon  the 
King's  Supposed  Generosity,  Praying  that  He  be 
Allowed  to  Reveal  His  Secret  Instructions." 

"  A  Fatal  Gift !    What  Will  He  Do  with  It  ?  " 

One  may  change  these  capitals  in  many  ways,  but 
every  change  will  be  equally  unpleasing ;  a  profu- 
sion of  capitalized  verbs  or  adjectives  is  always  a 
disfigurement  in  any  book.  In  recent  English  and 
French  books  of  high  merit  a  new  method  is  in 
favor  for  the  citations  of  the  titles  of  books,  for  the 
legend  lines  of  illustrations,  and  for  all  running 
titles.  Capital  letters  are  excluded  from  all  words 
but  those  that  begin  a  sentence  or  are  proper  names. 
This  simplicity  is  commendable,  but  it  is  not  safe 
for  a  compositor  to  follow  this  style  in  opposition 
to  copy. 


VII 


publishers. 


DIVISION   OF  WORDS 

JHREE  systems,  or  attempts  at  system, 
for  the  division  of  words  have  been 
in  use  for  many  years,  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  one  has  succeeded  in 
securing  the  favor  of  all  printers  and 
The  system  most  approved  now  au- 
thorizes the  division  of  a  word,  when  consistent 
with  pronunciation,  on  the  vowel  at  the  end  of  the 
syllable. 

THE  VOWEL  SYSTEM 

This  system  can  be  applied  safely  to  many  long 
words,  but  its  too  rigid  observance  may  lead  the 
unthinking  compositor  to  these  unusual  breaks : 

ca-pa-ci-ty        lexi-co-gra-pher   pro-gno-sti-cate 
cata-stro-phe    pre-fe-rence          re-co-gnize 

128 


Division  on  emphasized  syllables       129 

The  vowel  system  has  many  adherents  in  America, 
in  spite  of  occasional  uncouth  divisions,  but  it  is 
defective  as  a  system  in  its  inability  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  syllables  that  end  with  consonants. 

DIVISION  ON  CONSTITUENTS 

Another  system  requires  the  division  of  consoli- 
dated words  at  the  junction  of  their  constituents. 

anim-ad-vert  geo-logy  pre-judice 

cata-strophe  know-ledge  pro-gnos-ticate 

found-ation  lexi-co-grapher  pro-position 

geo-graphy  pre-fer-ence  typo-graphy 

This  system  is  logical,  or  at  least  etymological, 
but  it  is  not  practicable  in  the  printing-house,  for 
compositors  should  not  be  expected  to  be  expert 
in  divining  the  derivation  of  words  compounded 
from  Greek  or  Latin.  Nor  does  this  system  pro- 
vide for  the  words  that  have  to  be  divided  but  are 
not  made  up  of  two  or  more  consolidated  words. 

DIVISION  ON  EMPHASIZED   SYLLABLES 

The  system  which  seems  to  have  the  most  sup- 
porters in  the  United  States  is  that  which  permits 
the  division  of  a  word  on  the  emphasized  syllable. 

an-im  advert      geog-raphy  pref-erence 

catas-trophe     lexi-cog-rapher    prog-nos-ticate 


130  The  system  of  no  division 

This  system  is  of  most  service  in  dividing  words 
of  many  syllables,  yet  it  frequently  happens  that  a 
word  must  be  divided  on  an  unemphasized  syllable. 
No  system  of  division  known  to  the  writer  is  so  en- 
tirely satisfactory  as  to  command  general  obedience. 
The  compositor  usually  takes  for  his  guide  in 
division  the  dictionary  selected  by  the  office  as  its 
authority,  but  he  sometimes  finds  that  this  author- 
ity is  rejected  by  the  proof-reader  and  the  author, 
who  say  that  a  word  is  not  always  correctly  divided 
when  it  is  hyphened  according  to  the  dictionary, 
for  the  hyphens  are  inserted  there  only  as  helps 
to  a  proper  pronunciation.  Dictionaries  not  only 
differ  with  one  another,  but  are  not  always  con- 
sistent with  their  own  practice  in  making  sylla- 
bles of  similar  words. 


THE  SYSTEM   OF  NO  DIVISION 

Fifty  years  ago  the  proposition  was  made  by  some 
unknown  reformer  of  typography  that  all  divisions 
are  blemishes.  It  was  then  taught  that  the  unequal 
spacing  of  words  in  proximate  lines  which  must 
follow  the  application  of  this  rule  should  be  rated 
as  a  more  tolerable  defect.  Obeying  this  teaching, 
the  late  Joel  Munsell  of  Albany  printed  a  book  of 
many  pages  in  which  no  divided  word  can  be  seen ; 
but  the  spacing  between  the  words  was  unavoidably 
irregular,  and  the  general  effect  of  the  print  was 
not  pleasing.  His  method  had  few  imitators. 


Divisions  in  lines  of  display          131 

It  is  now  admitted  by  all  publishers  and  printers 
that  it  is  impracticable  to  prevent  divisions.  The 
narrow  measures  used  for  pocket  editions  of  the 
Bible,  for  the  column  headings  of  table  matter, 
and  for  side-notes  of  all  forms,  compel  divisions 
of  one  short  syllable  and  sometimes  of  one  letter 
only.  Long  words  have  to  be  divided  occasion- 
ally even  in  a  very  broad  measure.  Although  the 
divisions  are  unavoidable,  the  prejudice  still  holds 
that  the  breaking  of  a  word  is  a  misfortune  to  be 
deplored  when  it  is  not  a  fault  to  be  condemned. 

DIVISIONS  IN  LINES  OF  DISPLAY 

In  one  kind  of  composition  division  is  prohibited 
absolutely :  words  of  bold  display  in  a  title-page 
must  never  be  divided.  But  there  are  minor  lines 
of  display  in  smaller  capitals  (usually  subtitles 
and  summaries)  in  which  words  are  often  divided. 
Nor  does  the  breaking  of  this  old  rule  end  at  this 
point.  A  new  school  of  typography  authorizes  the 
division  of  capitals  in  a  square-set  title,  sometimes 
in  the  middle  of  a  syllable  confessedly  indivisible, 
without  the  formality  of  the  hyphen,  but  this  is  per- 
missible in  eccentric  composition  only.  A  subhead- 
ing of  two  lines  should  never  have  a  divided  word 
on  the  first  line  when  it  is  possible  to  turn  the  full 
word  over  into  the  next  line.  The  shortening  of  the 
first  line  is  never  a  blemish,  but  a  too  short  second 
line  following  a  hyphened  first  line  is  always  a  fault. 


132     Divisions  authorized  by  pronunciation 

WANT  OF  SYSTEM  IN  DIVISION 

To  the  young  compositor  these  vagaries  of  practice 
in  division  are  confusing.  The  only  clear  impres- 
sion left  on  his  mind  after  a  study  of  the  proof- 
reader's marking  is  that  the  divisions  should  be 
made  at  the  ends  of  syllables  only.  But  what  are 
correct  syllables  ?  One  proof-reader  may  divide  a 
long  word  on  a  vowel  to  show  its  derivation,  and 
another  on  the  emphasized  syllable  to  indicate  its 
pronunciation.  The  proof-reader  must  be  obeyed, 
especially  so  when  his  ruling  has  been  approved. 
Sometimes  the  proof-reader  is  overruled  by  the 
author,  editor,  or  publisher.  In  a  reading  over  of 
the  composition  of  a  morning  newspaper  or  of  hur- 
ried job-work  the  proof-reader  refrains  from  chang- 
ing any  division  that  is  not  flagrantly  bad.  A  di- 
vision of  doubtful  propriety  that  could  be  changed 
in  movable  types  at  moderate  expense  cannot  be 
changed  in  the  solid  lines  of  linotype  composition 
without  a  serious  loss  of  time  and  greatly  increased 
expense.  The  questionable  division  is  allowed,  for 
it  is  well  understood  by  the  publisher  that  not  one 
reader  in  a  hundred  will  find  fault  with  it  or  will 
accept  any  change  as  a  betterment. 

DIVISION   BY   PRONUNCIATION 

A  very  long  word  of  one  syllable  like  through  is 
indivisible  even  in  a  narrow  measure,  and  there 


Divisions  authorized  by  pronunciation     133 

are  words  of  but  two  syllables  which  some  proof- 
readers make  indivisible  in  the  ordinary  measure. 

crooked  given  moisten  soften 

browned  heaven  often  striven 

eleven  horses  prayer  voices 

fasten  listen  proved  verses 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  alleged  indivisibility 
of  these  words  is  controlled  by  pronunciation,  for 
although  of  two  distinct  syllables,  they  are  pro- 
nounced as  words  of  one  syllable,  the  last  e  being 
nearly  silent.  For  this  reason  it  is  unusual,  and 
in  many  printing-houses  improper,  in  a  measure 
of  eighteen  ems  wide  to  divide  a  noun  of  one  syl- 
lable in  the  plural  when  this  plural  is  made  by  the 
addition  of  the  final  a.  In  very  narrow  measures 
this  rule  cannot  be  maintained.  Divisions  of  two 
letters  are  always  to  be  deplored,  and  those  of  one 
letter  only  are  rated  as  very  unworkmanlike  in  a 
measure  of  eighteen  ems  or  more  ;  but  in  pocket  edi- 
tions of  the  Bible  and  other  classics,  divisions  like 
A-men,  o-ver,  a-ble,  a-vow,  have  to  be  allowed, 
for  they  are  unavoidable.  The  preference  of  the 
writer  is  for  the  divisions  that  indicate  pronuncia- 
tion, but  the  author  who  insists  on  dividing  a  word 
by  another  system  has  the  right  of  choice.1 

l  The  best  and  easiest  rule  for  the  derivation  of  words,  or  to  the 

dividing  the  syllables  in  spell-  possible  combination  of  conso- 

ing  is  to  divide  them  as  they  are  nants  at  the  beginning  of  a  syl- 

naturally  divided  in  a  right  pro-  lable.    Lowth,  Grammar,  p.  5,  as 

mmciation,  without   regard  to  quoted  by  Goold  Brown,  p.  181. 


134  Divisions  on  short  syllables 

Divisions  in  print  as  guides  to  good  pronunciation 
are  condemned  as  needless  manglings  of  language 
by  many  teachers  who  maintain  that  every  word 
should  be  divided  on  syllables  according  to  deriva- 
tion or  structure.  Obeying  this  rule,  geography  and 
theology  should  be  divided  in  the  second  syllable 
on  the  letter  o,  but  in  pronunciation  these  words 
are  correctly  emphasized  and  thereby  practically 
divided  on  the  g  and  1.  In  many  dictionaries  these 
words  are  hyphened  geog-raphy  and  theol-ogy. 
The  rules  of  the  teachers  are  in  opposition  to  those 
of  dictionaries  and  to  proper  pronunciation.1 

DIVISIONS  ON  SHORT  SYLLABLES 

Syllables  of  two  letters  have  to  take  a  division  in 
a  narrow  measure,  but  terminations  of  words  end- 
ing in  -ly  and  -ed  are  not  good  in  a  broad  measure 
when  they  appear  at  the  beginning  of  new  lines. 
Nor  are  in-,  en-,  on-,  and  de-  wisely  placed  at  the 

1  The  usual  rules  for  dividing  ster,  Improved  Grammar,  p.  156. 

[words  into]  syllables  are  not  Philosophical  Grammar,  p.  221. 

only  arbitrary  but  false  and  ab-  Goold  Brown  adds  these  notes : 

surd.     They  contradict  the  very  "...   to  show  what  is  the 

definition  of  a  syllable  given  by  pronunciation    of    a   word,  we 

the  authors  themselves.  ...  A  must,   if    possible,   divide  into 

syllable  in  pronunciation  is  an  such  syllabic  sounds  as  will  ex- 

indivisible  thing ;  and  stramge  as  actly  recompose  the  word,  when 

it  may  appear,  what  is  indivisi-  put  together  again  ;  as,  or-thog- 

ble  in  utterance,  is  divided  in  ra-phy,   the-ol-o-gy.    This  being 

writing ;  when  the  very  purpose  the  most  common    purpose  of 

of  dividing  words  into  syllables  syllabication,  perhaps  it  would 

in  writing,  is  to  lead  the  learner  be   well  to   give    it  a   general 

to  a  just  pronunciation.     Web-  preference,  and  adopt  it  when- 


Divisions  on  short  syllables  135 

end  of  a  line  when  division  can  be  avoided  with- 
out bad  spacing. 

The  terminations  -ed  and  -ing  of  all  verbs  and 
participles  may  be  carried  over  when  unavoidable 
in  a  narrow  measure,  as  in 

bound-ed      debat-ed         gild-ed         rat-ed 
bound-ing    debat-ing        gild-ing       rat-ing 

The  terminations  -er  and  -est  in  many  adjectives 
are  divisible,  but  when  pronunciation  practically 
makes  one  syllable  only  of  a  word,  as  in  cooked, 
its  division  should  be  avoided  when  possible. 

black-er        bold-er  great-er        strong-er 

black-est       bold-est        great-est      strong-est 

The  terminations  -ed,  -ing,  -er,  -est,  should  not 
be  carried  over  as  distinct  syllables  in  words  that 
double  the  consonants  preceding,  as : 

admit-ted  hot-ter  red-der 

admit-ting  hot-test  red-dest 

ever  we  can,  not  only  in  the  same  in  written,  as  in  spoken 

composing  of  spelling-books  and  language ;  otherwise  the  learner 

dictionaries,  but  also  in  the  di-  is  misguided,  and  seduced  by 

viding  of  words  at  the  ends  of  false  representations  into  inju- 

lines.   .  .   .  rious  errors.'     (Wilson,  Essay 

"  The  old  principle  of  dividing  on  Grammar,  p.  37.)     Through 

by  the  eye,  and  not  by  the  ear,  the  influence  of  books  in  which 

I  have  rejected ;  and,  with  it,  the  words  are  divided  according 

all    but  one  of    the  five  rules  to  their  sounds,  the  pronunci- 

which  the  old  grammarians  gave  ation  of  the  language  is  daily  be- 

for  the   purpose.      '  The    divi-  coming  more  and  more  uniform, 

sions  of  the  letters  into  syllables,  .     .     ."      Grammar  of  JEnglish 

should,  unquestionably,  be  the  Grammars,  p.  182. 


136         Divisions  between  consonants 

To  divide  any  word  properly,  a  knowledge  of  its 
etymology  is  of  value,  but  this  knowledge  is  not  so 
generally  useful  as  that  of  its  correct  pronunciation. 
He  who  pronounces  and  emphasizes  correctly  is 
seldom  in  error  as  to  the  right  division  of  a  word. 

DIVISIONS  BETWEEN  CONSONANTS 

When  two  consonants  meet  between  vowels,  and 
the  syllable  ends  on  one  consonant,  divisions  are 
often  properly  made  between  the  consonants,  as : 

advan-tage  foun-da-tion  In-dian  plain-tiff 

appel-lant    fur-ther  mad-der  Rich-mond 

appel-lee       gar-nish          mar-ket  scur-rilous 

finan-cier     gram-mar       mil-lion  struc-ture 

for-tune       impor-tant      moun-tain  Wil-liam 

The  divisions  here  offered  are  not  always  on  the 
radicals ;  it  is  the  pronunciation  that  determines 
the  place  of  division.  This  observation  concerning 
pronunciation  is  of  value  in  deciding  the  position 
of  the  doubled  consonant.  When  three  consonants 
follow  a  short  vowel,  the  consonants  that  must  be 
pronounced  together  should  make  a  separate  syl- 
lable. 


ac-tress 
breth-ren 
butch-er 
chil-dren 

chuc-kle 
frus-trate 
in-struct-or 
pitch-er 

punch-eon 
trem-ble 
trench-er 
twin-kle 

Division  on  prefixes  137 

The  division  of  similar  words  should  be  accommo- 
dated to  suit  altered  pronunciation,  as  in 

amend-able       represen-tation     syste-matic 
emen-dation     represent-ative     system-atize 

DIVISIONS  ON  VOWELS 

Divisions  are  properly  made  on  the  vowel  when 
the  emphasis  is  on  the  syllable  that  contains  this 
vowel,  and  not  on  its  following  consonant. 

busi-ness     ma-tron        noi-sy  pro-gress 

colo-nel       me-moir       pa-tron          trou-ble 
dou-ble        mo-bile         pro-duct        wo-man 

Pro-gress  is  the  proper  division  for  the  verb,  and 
prog-ress  is  permissible  but  awkward  for  the  noun. 
Some  of  these  words  violate  the  rule  of  division 
on  the  emphasized  syllable,  but  they  are  tolerated 
when  they  prevent  too  short  final  syllables,  as  in 
trou-ble. 

DIVISION  ON  PREFIXES 

The  word  compounded  with  a  prefix  should  be 
divided  preferably  on  the  prefix,  as  in  dis-inherit, 
dis-avow,  dis-agree,  un-able.  The  terminations 
-tion,  -able,  -ive,  are  most  frequent  in  one  sylla- 
ble, but  -sion  may  be  more  flexible.  In  occa-sion, 
apprehen-sion,  ces-sion,  and  declen-sion  the  s  al- 
ways appears  in  the  final  syllable.  As  a  rule, 


138     Good  divisions  may  make  bad  spacing 

these  endings  should  be  kept  intact,  but  in  a  word 
like  division  the  strong  emphasis  needed  for  the  s 
in  pronunciation  seems  to  justify  divis-ion. 


BAD  SPACING  MADE  BY  INJUDICIOUS  DIVISION 

All  proper  names  and  all  amounts  in  figures  suffer 
from  division,  but  this  division  is  unavoidable  in 
narrow  measures.  When  the  author  objects  to  an 
offensive  division  of  words  or  figures  he  should  be 
asked  to  add  or  cancel  or  substitute  a  word  or 
words  that  will  prevent  the  breakage.  The  over- 
running of  a  long  paragraph  to  evade  a  strange 
division  of  a  word  often  produces  the  much  more 
unsightly  blemish  of  irregular  spacing,  and  this 
change  is  usually  accomplished  at  a  serious  added 
cost  to  that  of  the  first  composition.  Changes  like 
these  would  seldom  be  made  if  the  author  or  the 
proof-reader  had  to  pay  for  the  additional  altera- 
tions. These  remarks  can  be  applied  to  manuscript 
copy  only ;  in  a  faithful  reprint  a  change  of  any 
kind  cannot  be  allowed.  Authors  who  insist  on 
even  spacing  always,  with  sightly  divisions  always, 
do  not  clearly  understand  the  rigidity  of  types.1 

l  On  this  point  Drew  wisely  theories  must  gracefully  yield, 

says  :    "  Theories  are  elastic, —  and  allow,  it  may  be,  a  two-letter 

are  expansible  and  compressi-  division  even  in  a  wide  measure, 

ble ;  but  types  of  metal  have  set  Types  are  tyrannical,  and  will 

dimensions   of    extension,  and,  sometimes  perpetrate  solecisms 

in  some  circumstances,  absolute-  under  the  plea  of  necessity." 
ly  refuse  to  budge,  —  wherefore  Pens  and  Types,  p.  89. 


Good  divisions  may  make  bad  spacing    139 

Assuming  that  all  divisions  are  blemishes,  some 
printing-houses  try  to  put  these  rules  in  practice : 
avoid  divisions  in  three  consecutive  lines,  in  the 
first  and  last  lines  of  any  paragraph  or  page,  in 
the  proper  name  of  any  person  or  place.  A  strict 
compliance  with  all  these  rules  is  impracticable  in 
the  ordinary  measure  without  the  cooperation  of 
an  author  who  is  willing  to  shorten  or  lengthen 
the  words  in  a  line  by  substituting  synonymous 
words  or  expletives  that  will  prevent  the  objec- 
tionable division.  There  are  few  authors  who  will 
take  this  trouble.  Without  doubt,  words  always 
appear  better  unbroken,  but  the  breaking  of  words 
may  not  be  so  unsightly  as  the  breaking  up  of  a 
general  uniformity  of  the  spacing  between  words. 
To  avoid  divisions  that  may  be  offensive,  the  com- 
positor may  have  to  hair-space  one  line  and  em- 
quad  the  next  line.  He  may  make  a  worse  division 
in  the  lines  following  that  he  has  to  overrun.  He 
may  unintentionally  produce  the  irregular  upcurv- 
ing  gaps  of  white  across  lines,  known  as  hounds'- 
teeth,  which  are  more  offensive  to  the  reader  than 
any  strangeness  of  division.  The  setting  of  Wil- 
at  the  end  of  a  tight  line  and  of  liam  McKinley 
at  the  beginning  of  another  line  is  not  so  sightly 
as  William  McKinley  in  one  line,  but  the  attempts 
of  a  compositor,  without  the  help  of  the  author, 
to  keep  this  name  in  one  line  may  and  probably 
will  produce  a  much  greater  blemish. 

More  attention  is  now  given  to  the  even  spacing 


140      Divisions  of  the  Clarendon  Press 

of  lines.  The  old  fashion  of  spacing  with  two 
three-to-em  spaces,  and  even  with  em  quadrats,  is 
not  tolerated  in  books,  although  it  is  an  oddity 
which  seems  to  be  favored  by  modern  advertisers. 
To  avoid  the  fault  of  over-wide  spacing  divisions 
which  were  once  prohibited  are  now  allowed. 

DIVISIONS  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

These  divisions  are  preferred  by  Horace  Hart  of 
the  University  Press,  Oxford,  England: 


abun-dance 
corre-spon- 
dence 
depen-dent 

dimin-ish 
estab-lish-ment 
impor-tance 
inter-est 

minis-ter 
pun-ish 
respon-dent 

He  disapproves  of  these  divisions : 

gene-ration        imagi-nation         origi-nally 
exal-tation         obser-vation         star-vation 

The  principle  is  that  the  part  of  the  word  left  at 
the  end  of  the  first  line  should  suggest  the  part  to 
be  carried  over  to  the  next  line.  He  advises  that 
the  word  "happiness  be  divided  happi-ness,  not 
hap-piness."  He  prefers  Roman-ism,  Puritan-ism, 
Catholi-cism,  criti-cism,  fanati-cism,  tautolo-gism, 
witti-cism,  philo-sophy,  atmo-sphere,  tele-scope, 
tele-phone,  micro-scope ;  but  he  admits  that  some 
of  the  divisions  specified  in  this  paragraph,  and 


Divisions  make  composition  expensive   141 

noted  as  preferable,  are  not  free  from  objection, 
and  should  be  avoided  when  it  can  be  done. 

Webster  allows  discrep-ancy ;  Worcester  prints  the 
word  as  discre-pancy.  English  printers  divide  fa- 
ther and  mo-ther  as  is  here  shown,  but  American 
printers  render  the  words  as  fa-ther  and  moth-er. 


DIVISIONS  MAKE  COMPOSITION  EXPENSIVE 

The  rule  that  words  must  be  divided  on  syllables 
compels  a  very  great  waste  of  time.  At  least  once 
every  hour  (and  five  or  more  times  an  hour  if  the 
measure  is  narrow)  the  compositor  has  to  pause 
and  think  before  he  decides  the  question,  Shall  I 
divide  on  this  or  on  that  letter?  He  may  decide 
wrongly,  and  be  required  by  the  proof-reader  to 
divide  on  another  syllable  and  to  overrun  many 
lines.  The  author  may  overrule  the  proof-reader 
and  divide  in  a  third  way.  The  time  wasted  in 
overrunning  and  respacing  lines  to  avoid  divisions 
objected  to  by  proof-reader  and  author  is  a  serious 
tax  upon  the  cost  of  composition  —  not  less  in  the 
aggregate  than  one  fifth  the  cost  of  type-setting 
alone.  To  correct  the  supposed  fault  words  may 
have  to  be  spaced  wide  in  one  line  and  close  in 
the  next  line,  to  a  much  greater  disfigurement  of 
the  composition. 

Are  the  rules  now  in  force  for  dividing  words 
in  syllables  really  needed  in  printing  ?    A  book  is 


142     Supposed  importance  of  catchwords 

supposed  to  be  written  for  the  convenience  of  the 
reader,  and  not  to  illustrate  the  author's  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  derivation  and  proper  dissection 
of  words  derived  from  foreign  languages.  The 
reader  is  helped  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
subject  when  the  division  of  the  word  in  the  first 
line  more  clearly  suggests  the  pronunciation  (not 
the  derivation)  of  the  part  following  in  the  next  line. 

Efforts  to  help  or  educate  the  reader  have  been 
made  often  in  a  wrong  direction.  Before  typog- 
raphy had  been  introduced,  and  for  about  twenty 
years  after  its  invention,  all  books  were  written  or 
printed  as  type- writing  is  now  done,  with  a  ragged 
outline  at  the  right.  This  was  unavoidable,  for 
the  early  printers  did  not  have  spaces  of  different 
widths.  There  are  improvers  of  typography  in 
our  own  time  who  revive  this  old  method,  regard- 
less of  its  raggedness,  and  to  some  extent  of  the 
correct  division  of  words.  In  the  chap-book  style 
for  the  display  of  title-pages  it  is  permissible  to 
omit  the  hyphen  in  a  divided  word  at  the  end  of  a 
full  line,  and  there  are  other  practitioners  of  this 
style  who  divide  the  word  on  any  letter,  regardless 
of  the  syllable,  and  require  the  reader  to  join  the 
broken  word  without  the  suggestion  made  by  the 
hyphen. 

For  more  than  three  centuries  printers  of  books 
appended  at  the  foot  of  every  page  the  first  word 
or  syllable  of  the  next  page.  This  catchword  was 
supposed  to  be  needed  by  the  reader  to  make  clear 


Knowledge  of  theories  of  value        143 

the  connection  between  the  two  pages;  but  the 
catchword  is  now  out  of  use,  and  it  is  not  missed. 
It  may  be  that  the  reader  of  the  future  will  have 
a  similar  opinion  of  the  present  method  of  divid- 
ing words  on  syllables  only.  A  feeble  resistance 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  rule  has  already  been 
made  by  some  amateurs  in  printing.  If,  to  pre- 
vent bad  spacing,  it  is  proper  to  divide  a  word 
like  Geo  rge  on  the  o  (as  it  here  appears)  in  the 
large  type  of  the  displayed  lines  of  the  so-called 
artistic  title-page,  why  is  it  not  proper  to  repeat  the 
practice  in  the  small  type  of  the  text  of  the  same 
book?  Is  a  division  on  two  letters,  or  even  on 
one  letter,1  as  offensive  as  a  wide  spacing  of  words 
in  one  line  and  their  narrow  spacing  in  the  line 
following  ?  It  is  not  probable  that  this  innovation 
will  find  favor  with  the  critical,  but  it  may  be 
mentioned  as  an  exhibit  of  increasing  restiveness 
at  grammatical  and  typographical  shackles  which 
annoy  the  reader  and  do  not  help  and  do  hinder 
the  proper  rendering  of  printed  words. 

Beadnell,  Wilson,  Bigelow,  Drew,  and  Teall  have 
written  on  the  division  of  words  much  that  may 
be  read  with  advantage  by  every  compositor ;  but 
these  writers  admit  that  printed  words  can  be,  and 

iNot  much  attention  seems  to  divisions  in  the  preface  by  Mil- 
have  been  paid  to  a  systematic  ton :  e-specially  and  o-therwise, 
division  of  words  even  by  good  and  they  appear  in  lines  where 
printers  of  the  eighteenth  cen-  there  was  no  real  need  for  a  di- 
tury.  In  Baskerville's  edition  vision  of  these  long  words  on 
of  Paradise  Lost,  I  find  these  the  single  letter. 


144        Divisions  in  foreign  languages 

often  must  be,  arranged  in  ways  that  compel  the  vio- 
lation of  their  rules.  Yet  rules  cannot  be  entirely 
abrogated.  The  good  compositor  should  under- 
stand the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of  making 
syllables;  but  his  acquired  knowledge  of  the  ele- 
mentary principles  of  etymology  and  his  memo- 
rizing of  fixed  rules  will  not  prove  so  serviceable 
in  every-day  work  as  a  knowledge  of  correct  pro- 
nunciation. Much  as  the  writer  dislikes  clippings 
and  abbreviations  in  a  text,  he  would  not  hesitate 
to  render  though  as  tho'  at  the  end  of  a  line  in 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  crowd  the  three 
following  letters  of  the  word. 

The  occasional  reprinting  in  a  foreign  language 
of  sentences,  sometimes  in  the  form  of  entire  para- 
graphs, calls  for  the  division  of  words  by  a  com- 
positor who  knows  nothing  of  the  structure  or  the 
true  pronunciation  of  the  words.  The  remarks  in 
Appendices  B,  C,  and  D,  prepared  by  an  author 
who  has  had  the  technical  education  of  a  printer 
and  long  experience  as  an  editor,  will  be  found 
of  material  service  in  the  composition  of  French, 
Italian,  and  German. 

The  rules  for  the  division  of  words  in  Spanish 
have  been  copied,  in  Appendix  E,  from  Knapp's 
Spanish  Grammar,  by  permission  of  the  publish- 
ers, Messrs.  Ginn  &  Co. 


VIII 


SMALL  CAPITALS 

WRITER'S  desire  for  small  capitals 
in  print  is  indicated  in  manuscript  by 
underscoring  the  specified  words  with 
two  lines.  For  purposes  of  emphasis 
or  display  the  small  capitals  have  been 
rated  as  superior  to  italic,  but  this  superiority  is 
not  apparent.  In  regular  fonts  the  small  capitals 
are  no  taller  than  the  round  letters  of  the  lower- 
case, are  on  a  narrower  set  and  usually  of  a  lighter 
face,  and  are  obscured  by  more  connecting  lines. 
In  many  fonts  they  are  really  the  weakest  and 
least  distinct  of  the  five  correlated  series  (roman 
capitals,  lower-case,  and  small  capitals,  italic  capi- 
tals and  lower-case)  furnished  as  a  complete  font 
of  book  type.  For  this  reason  small  capitals  are 
seldom  selected  for  any  division  of  the  book  for 
which  more  distinctness  or  emphasis  is  desired, 
us 


146     Small  capitals  following  the  initial 

They  are  freely  used  for  the  side-headings  of  short 
articles  or  separate  paragraphs,  for  running  titles, 
and  for  the  catch-lines  of  title-pages,  not  so  much 
for  the  purpose  of  display  as  for  the  making  of  a 
change  in  the  monotony  of  a  text  of  all  large 
capitals  or  all  lower-case.  They  would  be  more 
useful  if  the  characters  were  taller  and  wider. 

Small  capitals  are  often  selected  for  the  first 
word  after  a  blank  line  and  for  the  first  word  of  a 
new  chapter. 

ISTORY  recommends  itself  as  the 
most  profitable  of  all  studies. 


H 


Long  quotations  of  poetry  introduced  into  the  text 
are  sometimes  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  but 
short  quotations  of  poetry  or  prose  seldom  begin 
with  small  capitals.  The  medieval  practice  was 
to  put  a  very  large  capital  after  the  initial;  then 
came  letters  in  smaller  capitals,  and  after  these 
the  regular  text  letter.  This  method  is  obsolete : 
the  letters  of  the  first  word  that  follow  an  initial 
are  now  set  in  capitals  of  uniform  size. 


labia  mea    TpvOMiNE    labia    mea 
aperies.  E  Etos    JLs  aperies.     E    Et  os 


r^v 

JLs 

meum  annunciabit  laud-     meum  annunciabit  laud- 


When  the  first  word  of  a  chapter  has  only  one  or 
two  letters,  the  characteristics  of  the  small-capital 
style  are  not  readily  discerned,  and  it  then  seems 


Should  truly  line  with  the  initial       147 

necessary  to  use  small  capitals  for  the  second  word 
to  make  the  attempted  distinction  apparent. 

SO  IT  came  to  pass  that     /^ONSOLATOR  optime, 
Aucassin  departed.       \J  Dulcis  hospes  animse 

When  a  chapter  begins  with  the  proper  name  of  a 
person,  each  part  of  the  name  of  two  or  more  words 
must  be  put  in  capitals  or  small  capitals.  When 
small  capitals  have  been  selected,  the  first  letter  of 
each  word  in  this  name  should  be  in  larger  capi- 
tals to  give  the  name  the  required  distinction. 


H 


ENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFELLOW,  most 
admired  of  recent  American  poets,  is 


When  a  large  initial  three  or  more  lines  high  has 
been  selected  for  the  first  letter  of  a  new  chap- 
ter, large  capitals  are  occasionally  used,  but  they 
sometimes  meet  with  the  old  objection  that  they 
savor  too  much  of  the  style  of  the  short  adver- 
tisement of  newspapers.  When  this  initial  is  an 
ordinary  two-line  letter,  it  should  be  selected  of  a 
height  that  gives  to  it  exact  alignment  with  the 
small  capitals  of  the  upper  line  as  well  as  with  the 
lower  line  of  the  text  letter. 

PROVIDENCE  made  Mendelssohn  a  hunchback 
in  order  to  teach  the  rabble  in  a  very  strik- 
ing manner  that  men  are  not  to  be  judged  by 
outer  appearance,  but  by  inner  worth. 

Initial  of  proper  height. 


148     Small  capitals  for  tables  of  contents 

The  initial  is  badly  chosen  when  it  leaves  a  high 
gap  of  white,  as  appears  in  the  following  exhibit. 

TTEINRICH  HEINE  justifies  his  gay  trifling 
in  these  words:  Life  is  in  reality  so  ter- 
ribly serious  that  it  would  be  insupportable 
without  a  union  of  the  pathetic  and  the  comic, 
as  our  poets  well  know. 

SUMMARIES  OF  CHAPTERS 

Summaries  of  chapters  under  the  regular  chapter 
heading  are  sometimes  set  in  long  paragraphs  of 
small  capitals  of  the  text  type,  but  they  are  not 
so  readable  as  they  would  be  in  lower-case  letters 
on  a  smaller  body.  The  dull  monotony  of  compact 
characters  without  letters  ascending  above  or  de- 
scending below  the  line  becomes  wearisome  when 
protracted  in  three  or  more  lines.  The  density  of 
the  small  capital  may  be  made  less  unpleasing  by 
hair-spacing  and  wide  leading,  but  these  are  ex- 
pedients not  practicable  in  solid  and  compact  com- 
position. The  paragraph  of  many  lines  of  small 
capitals  on  a  small  body  can  be  made  more  read- 
able by  the  occasional  use  of  large  capitals  at  the 
beginning  of  important  words,  but  the  change  so 
made  is  seldom  pleasing.  Tables  of  contents,  often 
set  as  two  or  more  pages  of  small  capitals,  may 
be  wide  leaded  and  have  full  capitals  for  impor- 
tant words,  when  it  can  be  done,  to  their  great 
improvement.  The  size  selected  should  be  one  or 


Ineffective  when  used  in  a  mass        149 

two  sizes  smaller  than  that  of  the  text  type.  If 
set  in  the  small  capitals  of  the  text  letter  or  larger, 
the  page  will  have  a  coarse,  job-like  appearance. 

FORMS  OF  LETTERS— PHENICIAN  LETTERS,  AND  THEIR  DERIV- 
ATIVES—PELASGIC  LETTERS,  AND  THEIR  DERIVATIVES- 
ROMAN  LETTERS,  AND  THOSE  DERIVED  PROM  THEM  — 
SPECIMENS  OF  ANCIENT  ALPHABETS  AND  WRITING. 

The  old  method  of  setting  summaries.  This  is  a  fair  imita- 
tion of  a  summary  in  Astle's  Origin  and  Progress  of  Writ- 
ing, etc.  4to,  London,  1803.  The  small  capitals  were  on 
a  wide  set  or  were  hair-spaced. 

Of  the  Librarii,  Notarii,  and  Antiquarii  —  Of  Illuminators— 
Of  Paintings  and  Ornaments  —  Of  Materials  for  Writing 
upon  —  Of  Instruments  for  Writing  with  —  Of  Inks. 

A  modern  method  of  setting  summaries.  A  new  school  of 
typography  requires  all  the  capital  letters,  except  those  of 
proper  names,  or  those  that  begin  a  sentence,  to  be  put  in 
lower-case. 

SUBHEADINGS  IN  SMALL  CAPITALS 

Subheadings  in  small  capitals  produce  the  best 
effect  when  they  do  not  make  more  than  two  lines. 
As  small  capitals  have  no  ascending  or  descending 
letters,  the  space  between  the  lines  of  composition 
seems  greater  than  the  space  between  those  of  a 
lower-case  text.  When  it  can  be  done,  the  effect 
of  uniformity  in  leading  may  be  made  by  a  change 
of  leads.  For  three  or  more  lines  of  a  subheading, 
or  for  the  summary  of  a  chapter,  lower-case  is 
preferable. 
10 


150     Small  capitals  for  names  of  authors 

The  signature  of  the  writer  or  editor,  or  the  credit 
given  to  an  author  at  the  end  of  an  article  or  a 
paragraph,  is  frequently  put  in  capitals  and  small 
capitals. 

The  engagement  occurred  on  August  5,  1864,  and 
lasted  four  hours.  EDITOR. 

If  thou  wilt  receive  profit,  read  with  humility,  sim- 
plicity, and  faith,  and  seek  not  the  fame  of  being 
learned.  THOMAS  A  KEMPIS. 

A  style  more  approved  now  is  to  set  these  credits 
at  the  end  of  the  matter  in  italic  lower-case,  and  to 
omit  the  em  dash  often  used  to  connect  the  name 
of  the  writer  with  the  remark  or  quotation. 

When  two  or  more  quotations  appear  as  mottos, 
the  name  of  the  author  may  be  set  in  small  capi- 
tals, but  in  a  separate  line.  When  small  capitals 
are  selected  for  the  author's  name,  italic  may  be 
employed  for  the  name  of  the  book,  and  a  smaller 
roman  type  for  the  specification  of  the  occasion. 

It  appears  to  us  a  sen3- evident  truth  that,  what- 
ever the  gospel  is  designed  to  destroy  at  any  period 
of  the  world,  being  contrary  to  it,  ought  NOW  to  be 
abandoned. 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON,  in  the  Decla- 
ration of  Sentiments  of  the  Peace  Conven- 
tion at  Boston,  September  18-20, 1838. 

In  short,  I  did  what  I  could  for  the  redemption 
of  the  human  race. 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON  to  Henry  C. 
Wright,  August  23,  1840. 


Small  capitals  for  running  titles       151 

The  signatures  of  numerous  persons  to  a  document 
or  memorial,  when  arranged  in  columns,  are  often 
set  in  capitals  and  small  capitals.  Full  capitals  of 
the  text  are  always  found  much  too  large. 


DEDICATIONS  AND  RUNNING  TITLES 

The  dedication  of  a  book  is  generally  in  small  cap- 
itals only.  The  usual  requirement  of  the  writer 
that  particular  words  or  phrases  be  set  in  one  line 
only  may  compel  the  unwise  selection  of  too  small 
a  size.  As  the  dedication  occupies  an  entire  page, 
it  should  have  wide  leading  always. 

Small  capitals  still  find  some  favor  as  one  of  the 
approved  styles  for  the  running  titles  of  pages, 
but  they  should  not  be  selected  for  this  use  when 
the  words  are  few.  Capitals  of  full  size  are  more 
effective.  The  small  capitals  of  twelve-  or  four- 
teen-point  body  are  sufficiently  distinct,  but  those 
of  nine-point  and  smaller  sizes  are  dense  and  not 
easily  read.  This  indistinctness  can  be  ameliorated 
by  a  hair-spacing  of  letters,  but  this  is  not  always 
practicable.  In  their  exposed  positions  as  lines  at 
the  head  of  the  page  they  receive  too  much  wear ; 
their  shallow  counters  are  too  soon  choked  with 
ink.  As  a  safeguard  against  undue  wear,  capitals 
of  the  monotone  or  of  a  light-faced  antique  are 
sometimes  selected  for  books  frequently  reprinted 
in  which  the  running  titles  have  to  endure  much 
wear  in  a  very  exposed  position. 


152         The  spacing  of  small  capitals 

The  new  fashion  of  spacing  all  running  titles  with 
em  quads  or  wider  quadrats  until  they  reach  the 
full  width  of  the  measure  (putting  the  folio  figure 
at  the  foot)  has  a  few  admirers,  but  it  is  too  un- 
couth for  long  life.  Attractive  as  this  oddity  may 
be  for  an  advertising  pamphlet,  overspaced  letters 
for  running  titles  are  a  blemish  in  any  serious  book. 

FRENCH  SMALL  CAPITALS 

French  type-founders  are  now  making  for  their 
new  faces  of  roman  letter  small  capitals  of  greater 
height  and  width.  Others  put  their  small  capitals 
on  a  wider  set,  so  that  they  seem  hair-spaced.  So 
treated,  the  small -capital  series  is  more  readable, 
and  can  be  used  more  effectively. 

Capitals  and  small  capitals  continue  in  favor  as 
an  approved  style  of  type  for  side-headings  and 
for  subheadings.  French  printers  make  good  use 
of  their  new  style  of  broad  small  capitals,  without 
the  employment  of  a  large  capital,  for  the  names 
of  characters  in  plays.  It  is  a  pleasing  change. 

MADAME  DE  TRANSPOR.  — II  a  des  dents  de 
loup,  ce  petit  Fred !   .   .   . 

LA  DUCHESS E.  — Comment  trouves-tu  Made- 
moiselle de  Beauval  ?   .    .   . 
From  Monsieur  Fred,  by  Gyp.     12mo,  Paris,  1891. 

The  em  dash  at  the  end  of  a  side-heading  or  before  a 
signature  is  an  unnecessary  addition,  for  the  change 


Letter  headings  in  small  capitals      153 

in  style  of  type  is  enough  to  show  separation  of 
subject.  This  needless  use  of  the  dash  probably 
began  with  the  copying  of  a  similar  dash  unthink- 
ingly put  in  his  copy  by  the  author. 


LETTER  HEADINGS  IN  SMALL  CAPITALS 

In  reprinting  letters,  the  name  of  the  town  or 
city  in  which  the  letter  was  written,  and  of  the 
person  or  firm  to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed, 
as  well  as  the  signature  of  the  writer,  are  often  put 
in  capitals  and  small  capitals.  The  name  of  the 
month  and  the  day  and  date,  although  oftenest  by 
the  side  of  the  place,  are  put  in  lower-case  of  the 
text  letter.  This  is  the  rule  in  the  composition  of 
job-work  and  advertising  pamphlets,  but  it  is  not 
a  good  rule  for  newspapers  or  books.  In  the  book- 
house  small  capitals  should  be  considered  as  a  letter 
of  modified  display,  to  be  used  only  when  demanded 
by  words  that  need  special  distinction.  The  com- 
plimentary salutation  of  Dear  Sir  or  Gentlemen 
does  not  need  small  capitals.  When  the  printed 
heading  of  a  letter  is  unusually  long,  as  it  is  in 
the  following  examples,  lower-case  is  preferable. 

Office  of  Bramhall,  Abernethy  &  Sullivan, 
No.  140  Independence  Square,  Philadelphia. 

Office  of  the  Society  for  the  Improvement  of 
the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  No.  761  United 
Charities  Building,  New  York. 


154         Needless  use  of  small  capitals 

It  is  impracticable  to  strait- jacket  these  words  in 
separate  lines  of  symmetry,  or  to  try  to  show  the 
relative  value  of  each  clause  by  alternating  lines  in 
plain  roman  lower-case,  italic,  and  small  capitals. 
The  job-printer  may  do  it  with  his  greater  variety 
of  styles  of  type,  but  the  book  compositor  cannot. 
The  reader  is  not  helped,  but  is  bewildered,  by  the 
artificial  arrangement  and  by  the  mixing  of  types. 

OF  SMALL  VALUE  IN  LETTER  HEADINGS 

Although  the  extravagant  use  of  small  capitals 
gives  undue  distinction  to  many  words,  there  are 
readers  accustomed  to  this  style  who  find  the  more 
extended  use  of  roman  lower-case  equally  offensive 
for  its  alleged  monotony  and  want  of  display.  At- 
tempt is  sometimes  made  to  avoid  this  presumed 
fault  by  the  use  of  small  capitals  two  or  three 
sizes  smaller  than  that  of  the  text,  which  will  allow 
many  words  to  be  put  in  the  desired  single  line. 
This  method  is  not  an  improvement,  for  it  makes 
a  needless  feebleness  in  places  where  some  clear- 
ness is  needed.  If  the  name  of  the  person  or  firm 
addressed  is  composed  in  small  capitals,  and  the 
signature  of  the  writer  is  put  in  the  same  style  or 
in  italic,  the  letter  should  have  point  enough  from 
the  typographical  standpoint.  All  else  may  be  in 
lower-case  with  propriety.  When  there  is  no  spe- 
cification of  name  or  address,  and  the  complimen- 
tary salutation  is  only  that  of  Dear  Sir,  Gentlemen, 


Small  capitals  for  proper  names       155 

or  Fellow-citizens,  italic  lower-case  may  be  used, 
with  a  colon  (but  no  dash)  at  the  end.  In  double- 
leaded  matter  the  salutation  may  be  put  in  a  sepa- 
rate line.  The  distinction  sought  by  the  use  of  the 
small  capitals  for  any  name  is  weakened  when 
the  small  capitals  are  used  too  freely  elsewhere. 

Small  capitals,  usually  selected  for  the  reprint- 
ing of  formal  inscriptions  on  tablets,  are  often  in- 
closed in  a  rule  border.  Care  should  be  taken  to 
maintain  a  good  relief  of  white  space  between  the 
border  line  and  the  type. 

In  the  Bible  and  hymn-books  the  words  LORD 
and  GOD,  when  specifying  the  Almighty,  are  often 
set  in  capitals  and  small  capitals.  Following  this 
method  of  showing  veneration,  many  printers  of 
an  earlier  period  put  the  names  of  all  magnates, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  in  capitals  and  small  capi- 
tals. Nor  is  this  fashion  entirely  obsolete.  There 
are  journals  of  our  own  time  that  require  the 
names  of  all  persons,  even  when  they  are  of  small 
distinction,  to  be  so  emphasized.  This  treatment 
of  names  is  rare  in  book-work,  and  should  never 
be  attempted  without  special  order. 

The  old  custom  of  putting  a  list  of  the  names  of 
the  members  of  or  subscribers  to  an  association 
in  lined  columns  of  capitals  and  small  capitals  is 
still  observed,  but  the  fashion  is  declining.  Italic 
lower-case  has  preference  for  signatures  and  plain 
roman  lower-case  for  lists  in  the  text. 

Small  capitals  have  been  found  much  too  weak 


156  Small  capitals  in  book-work 

for  side-headings  in  dictionaries,  catalogues,  and 
educational  books.  The  lighter  faces  of  antique 
lower-case,  of  title  letter,  and  other  styles  of  plain 
type  are  now  preferred  even  in  books  intended 
to  have  the  severest  simplicity.  Small  capitals 
are  rarely  used  to  indicate  the  emphatic  words  of 
a  text.  The  taste  which  forbids  the  too  free  use 
of  italic  is  equally  severe  on  small  capitals.  Type- 
setting machines  of  old  form,  which  are  without 
any  provision  for  italic  or  small  capitals,  are  a 
still  more  effective  agency  for  their  suppression. 
Readers  have  been  slowly  and  somewhat  unwill- 
ingly taught  that  the  emphasis  of  italic  and  the 
modified  display  of  small  capitals  are  not  really 
needed  for  the  comprehension  of  printed  matter. 
Yet  it  is  not  probable  that  small  capitals  or  italic 
will  ever  go  out  of  use.  Of  small  service  for  dis- 
play within  a  text,  they  are  of  real  value  when 
used  with  discretion  in  differentiating  some  of  the 
different  divisions  or  features  of  a  book. 


IX 


EXTRACTS  AND  LETTERS 

)T  IS  CUSTOMARY  for  the  publisher  of  a 
proposed  book  to  determine  the  length 
and  width  of  its  page  and  the  size  and 
style  of  its  type  before  he  gives  the  copy 
to  the  printer.  He  decides  at  that  time 
also  whether  the  text  shall  be  leaded  or  solid,  so 
that  it  may  occupy  a  prescribed  number  of  pages. 
There  he  often  stops.  Definite  orders  are  rarely 
given  concerning  types  for  extracts,  letters,  docu- 
ments, notes,  tables,  preface,  appendix,  and  index. 
It  is  unwisely  assumed  that  the  selection  of  proper 
type  for  these  parts  of  the  book  may  be  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  compositors. 

The  running  title,  chapter  headings,  and  other 
parts  of  minor  importance,  which  are  set  usually  by 
one  maker-up,  are  sure  to  be  uniform  in  style,  but 
this  uniformity  cannot  be  safely  predicted  concern - 

157 


158     The  need  for  graduated  sizes  of  type 

ing  the  irregular  adjuncts  before  mentioned,  that 
have  to  be  set  by  many  compositors.  Without  pre- 
cise instruction,  each  compositor  will  set  irregular 
divisions  of  a  new  book  to  suit  his  own  notions  of 
propriety.  One  may  use  a  larger  and  another  a 
smaller  type,  and  perhaps  they  will  be  of  different 
faces  and  in  different  forms  of  indention. 


THE  DETERMINATION   OF  SIZE  OF  TYPE 

This  neglect  to  provide  for  uniformity  in  minor 
details  is  damaging  to  the  appearance  of  a  book. 
To  have  the  relative  value  of  each  part  easily  dis- 
cerned, the  book  of  many  parts  should  be  planned 
before  copy  is  given  to  the  compositors,  so  that 
each  part  may  be  set  in  a  proper  size  of  type  and 
with  uniformity  of  style.  It  is  understood  by  all 
parties  that  the  text  should  be  set  in  the  larger 
and  the  adjuncts  in  smaller  sizes  of  type,  and  that 
the  size  selected  for  each  different  part  should  be 
so  graduated  that  the  reader  can  determine  at  a 
glance  its  relative  value,  and  that  parts  of  equal 
importance  should  be,  for  the  most  part,  of  similar 
size  and  style  of  type.1 

l  This  suggestion  should  not  positor  to  get  them  in  on  that 

be  construed  as  an  insistence  on  page.     There  are  extracts  that 

absolute  uniformity.    There  are  should  be  set  in  black-letter,  and 

tables  of  figures  and  words  which  old  letters  that  do  not  properly 

must  appear  on  predetermined  show  old-style  mannerisms  un- 

pages,  and  six-point  may  be  com-  less  they  appear  in  old-style  type, 

pulsory  for  one  and  eight-point  with  the  capitals,  italic,  and  ab- 

for  another  to  enable  the  com-  breviations  of  the  original. 


Types  should  be  of  the  same  style     159 

Before  this  selection  of  face  and  exact  grading  of 
the  sizes  of  type  can  be  properly  determined  in  a 
book  that  has  to  be  kept  within  a  prescribed  number 
of  pages,  some  calculation  should  be  made  (not  of 
necessity  minutely  exact)  of  the  space  that  will  be 
taken  up  by  each  part. 

UNIFORMITY  NEEDED  IN  PAGES  OF  TYPE 

The  style  of  type  that  has  been  determined  for  the 
text  should  regulate  that  of  all  its  minor  parts.  A 
text  in  old  style  should  have  its  extracts  and  foot- 
notes in  smaller  sizes  of  the  same  face  or  family  of 
old  style.  Extracts  in  the  Elzevir  face,  or  even  in 
the  Caslon  face,  when  inserted  in  a  text  of  modern- 
ized old  style,  are  as  discordant  as  they  would  be 
for  a  text  set  in  modern-cut  letter.  Foot-notes  in 
bold-face  of  modern  cut  under  a  page  of  light-face 
text  make  another  unpleasing  discord.  All  sub- 
headings, side-headings,  and  running  titles  should 
also  be  in  agreement  with  the  types  of  the  text. 
They  may  be  and  often  must  be  more  conspicuous, 
as  is  imperative  in  the  side-headings  of  diction- 
aries and  gazetteers,  but  they  need  not  be  so  dense 
and  black  as  to  make  painful  contrast. 

The  impropriety  of  putting  together  types  of 
radically  different  styles  on  the  same  page  is  gen- 
erally acknowledged,  but  it  is  not  so  well  under- 
stood that  types  of  the  same  style,  but  of  different 
shape  or  form  (as  they  are  when  bold  forms  oppose 


160       Suggestions  for  graduating  sizes 

light,  and  condensed  forms  oppose  broad),  should 
not  be  put  in  opposition  on  the  same  page.  Even 
the  uncritical  reader  will  note  the  discord.  Print  is 
most  pleasing  when  types  of  different  size  "  hang 
together,"  to  employ  the  artist's  phrase,  and  are 
not  of  unrelated  families. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  GRADUATING  SIZES 

Extracts,  letters,  or  documents  made  a  part  of  the 
page  should  be  so  composed  that  the  reader  will 
discern  at  a  glance  that  they  are  not  a  part  of  the 
text  proper.  When  the  added  matter  is  of  high 
importance  and  is  made  the  subject  of  comment, 
it  may  be  set  in  the  text  type  and  inclosed  in  the 
ordinary  marks  of  quotation.  This  treatment  has 
the  disadvantage,  in  many  instances,  of  unduly 
increasing  the  size  of  the  book.  It  is  a  commoner 
practice  to  set  extraneous  matter  in  a  type  one  size 
smaller  than  that  of  the  text.  When  the  insert  is 
long  and  of  minor  importance,  and  it  is  desirable 
to  economize  space,  a  type  two  sizes  smaller  is  often 
selected,  but  the  old  practice  of  setting  extracts  or 
documents  in  eight-  or  seven-point  for  the  text  in 
twelve-point  is  not  in  present  favor.  The  reduced 
size  which  is  proper  in  the  foot-note  is  not  proper 
at  all  in  the  extract,  for  it  cheapens  and  seriously 
degrades  the  workmanship  of  the  page.  Authors 
object  to  this  treatment;  they  say  that  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  extracts  is  often  as  important  as 


Abuse  of  marks  of  quotation          161 

that  of  text-matter,  and  should  have  nearly  equal 
prominence.  Readers  are  always  better  pleased 
when  the  printer  puts  these  inserts  in  a  type  that 
is  easily  readable.  The  small  type  for  inserts  is  not 
always  an  exhibit  of  the  bad  taste  of  the  printer. 
When  the  publisher  has  predetermined  that  the 
intended  book  shall  come  within  a  specified  number 
of  pages,  the  use  of  small  type  may  be  unavoidable. 

WHEN  MAKES  OF  QUOTATION  ARE  NOT  NEEDED 

When  the  insert  has  to  be  set  in  a  type  of  smaller 
body  than  that  of  the  text,  quotation-marks  are  not 
needed  at  the  beginning  of  every  paragraph.  The 
change  in  size  of  type  is  enough  to  show  that  the 
insert  is  not  the  writing  of  the  author.  The  too 
free  use  of  quotation-marks  impairs  their  value  in 
the  places  where  they  are  actually  needed.  It  is 
only  when  the  author  requires  the  insert  to  be  set 
in  the  type  of  the  text  that  these  quotation-marks 
are  needed.  The  old  method  of  differentiating  the 
extract  from  the  text  was  to  put  double  quotation- 
marks  at  the  beginning  of  every  paragraph.  When 
this  treatment  did  not  seem  to  give  distinction 
enough,  double  quotes  were  put  before  every  line, 
but  not  to  advantage.  In  a  reprinted  letter  con- 
taining many  short  or  broken  lines  a  succession 
of  bristles  before  every  line  makes  a  sorry  sight, 
needless  as  well  as  irritating,  as  will  be  more  clearly 
seen  in  the  reprint  on  the  next  page. 


162       Extracts  identified  by  indention 

"  PHILAD*  July  5,  1775. 
"  Mr  Straban, 

"  You  are  a  Member  of  Parliament,  and  one 
"  of  that  Majority  which  has  doomed  my  Country  to  de- 
struction,—  You  have  begun  to  burn  our  Towns  and 
"murder  our  People, —  Look  upon  your  Hands!  —  They 
"are  stained  with  the  Blood  of  your  Relations! — You  and 
"  I  were  long  Friends: — You  are  now  my  Enemy, —  and 
'« I  am, 

"  Yours, 

"  B.  FRANKLIN." 

INDENTION  AND  INITIALS  FOR  INSERTS 

The  modern  method  of  treating  a  short  extract 
in  the  type  of  the  text  is  to  narrow  the  measure 
by  indenting  it  one  em  on  each  side  in  every  line. 
So  treated,  the  quotation-marks  may  be  omitted  at 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  paragraphs:  the 
change  of  indention  should  be  enough  to  denote 
quoted  matter.  For  an  extract  that  fills  less  than 
two  pages  this  method  of  indention  is  satisfactory, 
but  when  the  extract  exceeds  two  facing  pages  the 
distinction  made  by  special  indention  is  not  per- 
ceptible. Under  ordinary  conditions,  extracts,  let- 
ters, and  documents  that  make  more  than  two 
pages  are  most  pleasing  to  author  and  reader  in 
the  appendix. 

Another  method  of  presenting  the  extract  is  to 
indent  it  two  or  more  ems  at  the  left,  in  the  style 
of  motto  indention,  making  all  lines  of  full  width 
at  the  right.  This  makes  the  page  lopsided. 


Mannerisms  of  letter-writers         163 

John  Baskerville  of  Birmingham  thinks  proper  to  give 
notice  that  having  now  finished  his  edition  of  Virgil 
in  one  Volume,  Quarto,  it  will  be  published  the  lat- 
ter end  of  next  month,  price  one  guinea,  in  sheets. 
He  therefore  desires  that  such  gentlemen  who  intend 
to  favour  him  with  their  names,  will  be  pleased  to  send 
them  either  to  himself  at  Birmingham,  or  to  R.  and 
J.  Dodsley  in  Pall  Mall,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
inserted  in  the  list  of  his  encouragers.  [i757-] 

From  Reed's  Old  English  Letter  Foundries,  p.  272. 

A  document  in  the  text  is  made  distinguishable 
and  more  impressive  by  setting  it  in  type  one  size 
smaller  than  the  text  type,  beginning  it  with  a 
plain  two-line  letter  and  omitting  quotation-marks. 

BY  HIS  EXCELLENCY. — I  order  Benjamin  Harris 
to  print  the   Acts  and  Laws  made  by  the   Great 
and  General   Court,  or  Assembly  of  their  Majesties 
Province  of  Massachusetts-Bay  in  New  England,  that 
we  the  People  may  be  informed  thereof. 

Boston,  December  16,  1692.       WILLIAM  PHIPPS. 

Nor  do  extracts  in  the  form  of  letters  need  quo- 
tation-marks when  set  in  a  smaller  size  of  type. 
It  is  a  needless  affectation  of  precision  to  insert 
quotation-marks  at  the  beginning  of  each  separate 
line  or  paragraph,  when  it  is  unmistakably  apparent 
that  the  letter  is  an  insertion. 

MANNERISMS  OF  LETTER -WRITERS 

In  the  reprinting  of  a  letter  it  has  been  customary 
to  imitate  the  letter- writer's  arrangement  of  words 


164     Letter  headings  do  not  need  display 

and  lines.  The  name  of  the  society,  department, 
or  business  firm,  and  the  name  of  the  place,  are 
usually  set  in  capitals  and  small  capitals,  as  they 
are  more  fully  exhibited  in  the  following  example. 
The  name  of  the  person  addressed  is  often  put  in 
small  capitals.  Other  portions  of  the  heading,  and 
sometimes  the  address,  are  set  in  roman  or  italic 
lower-case  letters  of  the  same  body.  This  method 
of  setting  the  letter  wastes  space  and  makes  use- 
less display  of  words  that  do  not  require  display. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

CENSUS  OFFICE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  January  5,  1901. 

HENRY  W.  PENFIELD, 

Philadelphia. 
Dear  Sir : 

When  the  heading  and  the  address  consist  of  few 
words  and  make  short  lines,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
imitate  the  style  of  the  letter-writer,  but  is  imita- 
tion needed?  The  selection  of  small  capitals  for 
four  lines,  and  of  italic  for  one  line,  with  a  gen- 
erous allowance  of  space  about  six  broken  lines,  is 
of  questionable  propriety  in  the  narrow  columns  of 
a  magazine  or  a  duodecimo  page.  Why  should  the 
heading  of  a  note  that  may  be  relatively  of  slight 
importance  have  more  display  and  more  space  than 
are  given  to  the  regular  subheadings  of  the  text  ? 


Eoman  lower-case  a  preferable  substitute   165 

The  difficulty  of  closely  imitating  the  mannerisms 
of  letter-writers  is  aggravated  when  the  heading 
and  the  address  are  long  and  fill  many  lines. 

THE  HEBREW  BENEVOLENT  AND  ORPHAN  ASYLUM  SOCIETY, 

Amsterdam  Avenue,  near  136th  Street. 

Office,  22  Bible  House, 

NEW  YORK,  December  6,  1900. 

To  the  Superintendent  of  the 

CLARA  DE  HIRSCH  HOME  FOR  WORKING  GIRLS. 
Dear  Madam  : 

To  put  this  heading  in  type  line  for  line  as  written 
or  printed,  the  compositor  will  have  to  select  a  type 
of  smaller  size  than  that  of  the  text  of  the  letter, 
and  this  selection  may  break  lines  awkwardly  or 
make  them  insignificant  in  any  narrow  measure. 
Name,  location,  and  date  may  be  unimportant  in 
some  letters,  but  in  others  they  need  prominence. 

AVOIDANCE  OF  LETTER-WRITERS'  METHODS 

In  the  narrow  columns  of  a  magazine  or  news- 
paper, or  in  any  form  of  compact  composition,  this 
imitation  of  the  mannerisms  of  the  penman  who 
writes  upon  a  broad  quarto  leaf  will  be  found  un- 
sightly even  when  it  is  not  impracticable.  Three 
distinct  series  of  characters  for  words  that  need  no 
display  make  useless  breaks  in  the  harmony  of  com- 
position. The  matter  in  the  heading  above  would 
be  presented  in  a  more  orderly  manner,  and  be 
11 


166        Small  capitals  wasteful  of  space 

quite  as  intelligible,  if  it  were  set  in  a  hanging 
indention  after  this  form  : 

The  Hebrew  Benevolent  and  Orphan  Asylum  Society, 
Amsterdam  Avenue,  near  136th  Street.  Office,  22 
Bible  House.  New  York,  December  6,  1900. 

To  the  Superintendent  of  the 

Clara  de  Hirsch  Home  for  Working  Girls. 
Dear  Madam : 

SMALL  CAPITALS  NEEDLESSLY   PREFERRED 

Capitals  and  small  capitals  continue  to  be  employed 
for  addresses,  date-lines,  and  signatures,  but  there 
is  an  increasing  tendency  toward  the  curtailment 
of  display  in  ordinary  matter  that  does  not  require 
distinction  for  any  part.  Readers  of  daily  news- 
papers are  now  reconciled  to  the  exclusion  of  italic 
and  small  capitals,  and  it  is  possible  that  readers 
of  books  will  be  equally  content  with  plain  roman 
lower-case  characters  in  all  places  where  display  is 
not  of  real  service. 

When  there  are  many  words  in  the  heading  and 
address  of  an  official  letter  no  attempt  should  be 
made  to  crowd  the  words  in  one  line  or  to  spread 
them  over  many  lines,  or  to  arrange  them  in  any 
arbitrary  form  for  which  the  types  of  the  text  are 
plainly  unfitted.  For  solid  composition  the  hang- 
ing and  diagonal  indentions  of  the  preceding  ex- 
ample will  be  preferred  by  all  publishers  who  wish 
to  confine  the  printed  matter  within  a  prescribed 


Customary  methods  of  setting  letters     167 

limit.  Italic  is  not  advised  for  the  date-line,  in 
which  upright  figures  have  to  stand  side  by  side 
with  inclined  characters. 

To  those  who  are  accustomed  to  old  methods 
the  composition  of  a  letter  heading  in  lower-case, 
without  display  and  in  hanging  indention,  may 
not  be  pleasing,  but  the  simpler  treatment  is  gain- 
ing in  favor  and  should  have  a  respectful  consid- 
eration. The  tendency  of  modern  typography  is 
toward  simplicity  and  the  avoidance  of  all  imprac- 
ticable imitations.  Job-printers  try  no  longer  to 
follow  the  styles  of  lithographers  and  copperplate- 
printers  ;  they  abandon  ornamental  types,  curved 
lines,  and  many  laborious  methods  of  type-setting. 
Indeed,  they  often  go  too  far  in  the  opposite  extreme 
of  needless  coarseness,  but  the  spirit  that  recognizes 
typography  as  a  distinct  branch  of  the  graphic 
arts,  not  dependent  on  any  other  for  its  models  of 
style,  and  able  to  stand  on  its  own  feet  and  origi- 
nate its  own  models,  is  a  spirit  to  be  commended. 
The  mannerisms  of  the  modern  letter-writer,  and 
those  of  the  medieval  copyist,  do  not  deserve  imita- 
tion in  ordinary  book  composition. 

To  those  who  prefer  to  continue  the  old  fashions 
of  composing  letters  these  suggestions  are  offered. 

CUSTOMARY  METHODS  OF  SETTING   LETTERS 

The  full  name  of  the  person  or  society  issuing  the 
letters  may  be  in  capitals  and  small  capitals  of  the 


168      Customary  methods  of  setting  letters 

text,  as  is  shown  in  the  next  illustration.  The 
street  appears  in  a  centred  and  separate  line  of 
lower-ease ;  the  date  (preceded  by  the  name  of  the 
city  in  small  capitals),  in  another  line  of  lower-case 
at  or  near  the  end  of  the  measure.  The  name  of 
the  firm  or  person  addressed  begins  another  line 
without  indention  ;  the  place  or  office  of  the  person 
addressed  follows  in  another  line  with  much  inden- 
tion. Never  abbreviate  an  address  to  save  a  line ; 
if  it  is  too  long,  set  it  in  two  lines  of  unequal  length. 
When  it  can  be  done,  leave  a  broad  blank  at  the 
end  of  the  line  or  lines  of  address. 

THE  TYPOTHET.E  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 
106  and  108  Fulton  Street, 

NEW  YORK,  October  12,  1897. 
Dear  Sirs: 

The  committee  appointed  by  this  Typothetae  to  con- 
fer with  a  similar  committee  from  Typographical  Union 
No.  6  concerning  the  proposed  day  of  nine  hours  will 
meet,  as  has  been  mutually  agreed,  in  these  rooms  on 
Thursday,  October  14,  at  4  o'clock  p.m.  Your  punctual 
attendance  is  respectfully  requested. 

Yours  very  truly, 

E.  PARKE  GOBY, 

Secretary. 
Messrs.  SAMUEL  B.  DONNELLY,  president, 

WILLIAM  FERGUSON,  secretary,  and 
other  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Typographical  Union  No.  6. 

The  complimentary  salutation  of  Dear  Sir  or 
Gentlemen,  or  any  other  phrase,  should  be  in  a 


The  composition  of  long  salutations      169 

separate  line,  if  space  will  allow.  When  the  com- 
position is  solid  and  more  space  cannot  be  allowed, 
run  the  salutation  in  the  first  paragraph  as  a  side- 
heading,  making  it  a  part  of  the  first  line  of  the 
letter.  Put  a  colon  after  the  salutation,  but  never 
follow  it  with  the  dash,  which  is  not  needed,  for 
this  dash  has  no  value  and  is  but  the  unthinking 
mark  of  a  writer  who  is  undecided  concerning  the 
point  that  is  proper,  and  who  uses  the  dash  at  a 
venture.  This  salutation  is  usually  set  in  italic, 
although  it  is  never  so  italicized  by  the  writer,  and 
does  not  need  that  distinction  in  type.  The  roman 
lower-case  is  always  to  be  preferred. 

HOW  TO  TREAT  LONG  SALUTATIONS 

When  the  address  is  very  long,  as  it  is  in  a  formal 
petition  to  a  legislature  or  a  municipality,  and  is 
not  followed  by  any  complimentary  phrase,  italic 
lower-case  may  be  used  for  all  words  in  the  address. 
When  the  address  makes  more  than  one  line,  the 
second  and  third  lines  should  be  in  hanging  inden- 
tion. The  paragraphs  of  a  letter  set  solid  or  sin- 
gle-leaded in  roman  or  italic  are  best  presented 
with  the  ordinary  indention  of  one  or  two  ems. 
The  wide  paragraph  indention  sometimes  made 
by  penmen  is  tolerable  only  in  script  or  in  any 
character  which  has  the  long  ascenders  and  de- 
scenders that  make  wide  spaces  between  lines. 
One  signature,  set  in  small  capitals,  is  usually 


170       Diagonal  indention  for  addresses 

indented  at  its  end  one  em  from  the  right,  but  it 
is  a  better  method  to  use  the  italic  lower-ease  of 
the  text.1  If  there  are  two  or  more  signatures,  all 
of  them  should  be  set  to  line  at  their  beginning. 
When  the  address  is  underwritten  at  the  end  of 
the  letter,  as  is  sometimes  done  in  a  formal  corre- 
spondence, this  address,  which  frequently  consists 
of  two  or  more  lines,  may  have,  if  the  space  will 
permit,  a  diagonal  indention  in  this  fashion  : 

To 

Mr.  Henry  R.  Braithwaite, 

President  of  the  Society  for 

Microscopical  Research, 

New  York  City. 

When  space  has  to  be  filled  and  attempt  is  made 
at  an  open  display  of  a  letter  which  is  addressed 
to  many  persons,  each  name  should  have  a  separate 
line,  but  all  the  names  should  line  at  the  begin- 
ning, as  has  been  suggested  for  the  composition  of 
signatures.  The  specification  in  separate  lines  of 
honorary  titles  or  of  any  other  particular  should 
be  always  in  the  lower-case  of  the  type  of  the  text. 

1  The  portions  of  the  printed  writer  who  does  not  wish  to  have 
letter  heading  that  need  not  be  copied  a  long  list  of  society  offi- 
copied  cannot  be  determined  by  cials  or  directors  and  the  num- 
the  compositor.  To  be  a  proper  bers  of  the  rooms  in  an  office 
legal  exhibit  all  words  should  be  building,  with  other  irrelevant 
copied,  but  there  is  often  in  these  matter,  should  have  this  need- 
headings  an  amount  of  verbiage  less  matter  erased  in  the  copy 
not  required  by  a  reader.  The  before  it  goes  to  the  printer. 


NOTES 


KOTES  are  a  hindrance  in  composition 
and  making-up.  When  they  have  to  be 
affixed  to  a  page  that  has  engravings, 
or  when  they  are  many  in  number  or 
are  of  unusual  length,  the  maker-up  is 
A  long  note  may  have  its  reference- 
mark  on  the  last  line  of  the  page,  and  the  follow- 
ing page  or  pages  may  have  other  notes  that  can- 
not be  shown  complete  in  the  proper  place,  but 


perplexed.1 


i  One  of  many  excessively  an- 
notated books  is  the  Histoire  de 
1'origine  et  des  premiers  progr6s 
de  1'imprimerie  [by  Prosper  Mar- 
chand],4to,aLaHaye,1740.  The 
text  is  set  in  type  of  about  four- 
teen-point  body;  the  foot-notes 
are  set  in  eight-  and  nine-point, 
in  half-measure ;  the  notes  to 
notes  in  six-point,  broad  mea- 
sure ;  side-notes  in  seven-point. 


Italic,  parenthetical  reference 
figures  and  letters  of  roman  and 
italic,  and  spaced  small  capitals 
are  profusely  used,  with  sprink- 
lings of  Greek.  Page  10  has  but 
two  lines  and  pvages  11, 12,  and  13 
have  but  one  line  of  text  type, . 
the  greater  part  of  each  page  be- 
ing filled  with  notes  set  in  differ- 
ent measures.  The  composition 
and  making-up  of  this  matter 


171 


D  E    L'  I  M  P  R  I  M  E  R  I  E.  23 

A  CETTE  premiere  Edition,  deux  habilcs  Critiques  en  joignent  SECTIOW 
tine  feconde,  dont  perfonne  qu'eux  ne  parle;  favoir,  une  premiere       1Vl 
Edition  en  Caradercs  mobiles,  &  fans  Uate,du  Catbolicon  J  OHAN- 
NIS  JANUENSIS  (N). 

ET 

grand'ari  ,   Jliali  btdii  Miflalia  fo'ent  imprimi  ( 123 ).  vi  un  magnifique  Excmplaire  de   ccttc   Edition  rare 

Struvius  &  Werther  donnent  ccs  Carafleres  pour  fim-  &  inconnue  dans  la  Bibliotheque  dc  1'Abbaie  Roule 

plemcnt  faconnez   au  Couteau  :   Wiacrda  les  donne  dc  Ste  Gennevicvc  dc   Paris ,  1'unc  dcs  plus  cor.fide- 

comme  ant£rieurs  a  laDecouverte  dcsPoincons  &  des  rabies  &  des  micux  fournics  dc  cette  grandc  Ville. 

Matrices  par  Schoiffer  (124);  &  Ic   Prefidcnt  Coufm  Altera  ( 128) ,  difcnt-ils  ,   ex  Arte  Typtgraptiicd  turn 

pretend  ,    que  cette  Edition  n'eft  faite  qu'avec  dcs  perfefla ,  lanen  abfque  Nttmeris  ,  Signiutiris ,  Reclma- 

Planchcs  de  Bois  gravies  (I2J):  mais,  ils  fc  trom-  titmtna ,  Anno,  Loco,  Nomine  Tyfutbttte  •,  alfiue  Lit- 

pent  tous  Igalement.  tciis  ctirun  initialibus ,  qua  omnes  addita  (•?  pi&a:  qitam 

CHBVILLIER  remarque  avcc  raifon  ,   que,  quoi-  Moguntiit  prodiiffe   ctnjiciunt.     Exjiat  ejufce  Exemplar 

cu'il  n'y  ait  plus  aucun  Exemplaire  de  cent  Bible,   en  Parifiis  ,    in    Ginavefinii    IBibliotbccd]  folia  maxima, 

doit  pourtmtt  lui  Of  carder  It  printer   Rang  entre  tautts  Cbartd  Regid  (129). 

ks  Bibles  (126);  &  meme  cntrc  tous  les  Livrcs  im-  EXCEPT  ft   Chevillier  .   qui  paroit  indiqucr  ccttc 

prime;,  pouvoit-il  ajouter:  &  Ton  peut  bien  s'imagi-  Edition  linguliere  encesTcrmes,  yen  nivAnnetres 

ner,  qu'unc  pareille  Edition  eft  d'une  Rarctc  extre-  ancienne  Jans  Dale  (130)  ,   ils  font  a  la   vcriti  les 

me.  Cependant ,  Mr.  d'Uffenbach ,  Magiftrat  dc Fraiic-  fculs  qui  aicnt  jamais  parli!   dc  cette  Edition:  mais, 

fort  fur  le  Mein ,  fe  flattoit  d'en  pofRder  un  Excm-  ils  font  fi  bons  Connoilfcurs  en  ce  Genre ,  &  ils  ont 

plairei  &  voici  la  Notice  qu'il  nous  en  a  donn<*e.  fi  bien  &  fi  juditicufcment  dreK  la  Bibliotheque  de 

Icur  Ordre,  quc  lour  Tvmolgnagc  doit  toujours   etrc 

Lotincrum  B3>l:trum  Editit  vetuflijjima ,  dutl/us  coif-  de  trcs  grand   Poids,  a  moins  qu'il  ne  fc  trouvc  cx- 

Uns  yoluminibui  in  fulit.  prcflTcmcnt   infirmiS ,   ou  dctruit  ,  par  des    Autoritcz 

formcllcs  &  pofitivcs. 

VIDETUS  Minium  frima ,  (f  Mtgtintie  at  if  ft  At-  BIEN  loin  dc- la:  voici  dc  quoi  le  eonfirmcr.  J'al 

tis  Typographies  Inventlrib:is  GUITEM  BE  RGJ  o  fcili-  moi-inemc  unc  Edition  tout-a-fait  fcmblablc  a  cellc 

<ct  ac   tuvSTO  Typis  exfcripta.     Ouamvis   eni.n  tiv.Ila  qu'ils  dccriycnt :  &  je  la  crois  d'autant  plus   rccllc- 

Temftrii ,  Lot i ,  atqne  Typograpborum  Menlio  fiat ,  eiiin-  incnt  dcs  trois  premiers   Imprimcurs  ,    Guttembcrg, 

lit  tcmen  id  Typorum  in/ignis,  non  omni  tamm  Elegtin-  Full,  &  SchoifTcr,  quc  le  Caraftcrc ,  a  quelque  pcu 

lid  earens,  Ruditas;  tf  ex  ipfd  hoc  Rudltatejiid  da-  dc  GrofTcur  prcs  ,  en  eft   tout-.'i-fait  femblablc  J  celui 

riffime  elucens  veneranda  Antiquitas ,  Linearum  ac  ipfa-  <lc  la  Bible  Latine  impriinfc  par  Fuji   £•?  Schciffcr  en 

rum  Line  rarum  ftu  Typorum  Imequalitat ,  vajujculartim  1462  >  &  quc  le  Papier ,  fur  lequcl  cite  eft  fjitc.por- 

cc  initialium  Litteranm   Mann  (f   qttidem  faOn  Adpic-  cc  firicifcmcnt  Us  ir.cmcs  Marques  quc  cclui  fur  lequel 

jio,  Minia  etiam  ubii-is  additf  haerptinSiones ,  infignis  routes  leurs  Editions  font  imprinKrcs(i3i).Cct  Excm- 

tttnique  Cbance  Craffitie: ,  jtlbedo,  ac  Nitir ,  auilus  ve-  plairc   a  autrcfois   appartcnu  i  la    Communautf  dcs 

tujliffmi  Libri,  cmniumnue  primx  £dititnes  ,recentitres  Clcrcs  d'Emcric  ,  i  laqucllc  il  avoit  t-te  leguf  parGc- 

rujlras  tmnino  antecellunt  (127).  rard  d;  Bruno,  Chanoinc  de  Dcvcntcr.    II  eft  parfai- 

(N)  Deux  babiles  Critiques  parlent  d'une  Edition  fans  tcment  bicn  confcrvc,  &  relic  en  Bois,  couvert  df 

Date  JuCatholicon  JOHANNIS  JANUE  NS  is.]  CES  Peau  de  Tru'j'c.    11  eft,  dc  plus,  antique'  fur  Trjnclie, 

deux  habiles  Critiques  font  les  Peres  Jaqucs  Quetif  &  lave  &  regie,  non  fculcmcnt  i  I'ordir.airc  aotojr 

Cc  Jaqucs  Echard  ,  Dominioains  ,   qui  affluent  avoir  dc  chaquc  Page,  mais  cxcraordinairemcnc  audcflbus  de 

cha- 

( I  it)  Chronic.  Colon.  «/p«J  MallinVroc.^j.  )7.  (114)  Scravii  Introd.  f*-»IT- Wmfccf.M.  1.  Whtnk  ,Mf  |f  f»»)  J™'- 
K\  del  Sjvjns.  Mai  ifH.ftf.  114.  (lie)  ChcvillLcr,  p'rf.S  6-  7(.  Molinui ,  Cvalogl  CKhuliammi  S.  Sctipc.  IniErptcium ,  r'i-7: 
I'^uiiir  ttU  SicyJcnde,  ovenvinnendc.cn  ttiumphtrciule  Wjt.htiJ  ,  imp.  a  AM,,,,  „  mj.  Cff.  l:  Lipenii  Eiblincli.  Tlirol.  ftf.  151,. 
Btoghem  ,  Inc.Txpcigr.  •  1  v/i  ,  C>  iivni  wrt,  /in/  jMt  ,  J«»»»r  dt  mlmt  I,  f,tm«,  K**f  f  i,,tt  B,tlt  :  6-  il  if  4»n  rt.«M«  .'  jut  I, 
r.  le  Long,  Biblioth.  S«ti  f«.  MO  6-  Mi  .  ''«•<  »•»  /I"'""""  «.««*>  '."•»«  *"•««[•  n  '«*>»>  -*  fmftt  Effii ,  m,i,  mint  fa,  ,,j,t- 
lii  arami  fku/t .  tr  q*t  Mr.  Mtiiuiit  11  till  fail  *imif,  dtni  ft:  Annjlej.  (117)  Zjch.  Coat.  lb  UHenbidl .  Biblirah.  L'ffenbjcliianj 
Tw».  1.  f«.  i  *•  1.  0.<wil  q*;l}  in  i  •»  0,1,1  L*tmfl,ui  dm,  It  TMliuktya  d»  Btr,*  ill  Cr./i.f  •  Lily.  Vtil-^.  It  Thepphili  Sincoi 
Sjrr.mlune  von  uren  Buchein.  /  .f|«t,,  MJ.  14  , trlt  Onlo^u:  Libror.  taiioi.^  Vojl.Mt  il<  nS.<;/  i'.n  mftit  I*  C<a*t\titi  dt  B»,tr  m,. 
W«,«<lrf«r«iirt/<tv..  9»'«nIOic  XXXV  ll.il]*  Ponara  Citculum  in  Avil*>  luu  ,«/.«.  fin  Nllibui.  (  US  )  //'  vt«u<w  d,  p,,l,, 
At  I'LAilitn  At  tt  mimt  Livit ,  ftitt  *vtt  dn  PlMchii  fnveit ,  6-  ttttriit  ti-dijfu,  ftlantr^i  (  H  ).  ((19)  C^uecif  Sc  Eclurd  Sciiprorfs 
Ocd.  PwdiMtoium  recenliti.  Tim.  I.  f^.tfi.  (  ijoj  dKvilliK.Oiis.  dcrimpi.de  Puit. />«.  i j.  (  l)l)  ftutei-dtjiia  il  Stdin 
XI,  Tinyfkl  Leui  Tapici  8c  f«  Mii.juti. 

Reduced  facsimile  of  a  page  of  Marchand's  Histoire  de 
1'origine  et  des  premiers  progres  de  1'imprimerie. 


Be 


indicium  qttod  (dent  qua  ft 
odiim  eil  ejpermo  tatiim 
effe  oeb«.vtl?<c.*J.o<  refcrip.eiparte.^.n". 
co.fi  p:ocurato:e$.in  n.z.C.ce  fat  ifda  .  I.  v  n  a. 
etiaiu  ante  mdiciuinceptu;.  fl.iudi.fbl.fi  an" 
tein.ad-idfa' 

cit.ff.re  fol-3  tudtccvel'aduerfarto  fa/ 
S?omi:icni.§.  ctum  fuent  indicium  q$ 
ft  titmm:  -1.1.  1^3  quaft  pwcurato:  poft 
fiqine  feruo.  modum  erpenue  eftrratdi 
rffKSH  dfeocbcbii.  I  dcm. 
lifferu  SS  fiUuffamiUae  poceft  dT< 
<rcd(  .  port-*  p:ocuratot  in  iudino  ctia 
modnVigno  ad  furUrao!ifce:tp:ocur3 
ramecreduo  tozraiua'cnmptunbua  It 
re  mutauerit  mill  infolidum  :  p^fcrtur 
Toluntatein.  ft  p:eoccupauit 
ceffat  lenatul 


n(am  initinm  IpecNntJnmeft.rT.ad"  maccdo. 
fitamni.£t  ii  Dicam.qiu  voluerit  cum  fcruo 
meocontraljere  periculo  meo  cdtrabat-po(> 
fum  miiw  e  voluntatem.fl  certlficaucro  ere 
ditionem.n~.qaod  iulTu.  l.i.refponfo.i.  in  ft. 
Si  vero  reucc  Jtio  peruenlat  ad  utdicem  re  I 
ad  aduerfarium  qmcquid  nt  cum  eo  tjncp 
mm  tnlfo  p.  ocuratoje  non  valet  vt  Ipic  a  con 
jr»iio  feiifii.s.Df  rdci  ip.cr  partc  cecani.po 
(leanonp)occdat.iudejccumillop:acurato- 
re.g.co.  auditiff.t  tic  intelltgitur  quod  cici^ 
rur.iifo.cr  inliniiahone:  s.c.in  ncitra.  qui 
cnim  vultreuocare  p:ocurato;em.  ccrtiijca-' 
re  oebet  aduerfarium  vcl  itidkem  vt  l:ic  ci^ 
<it  .ficur  Uttere  De  rate  mtttuntur  i  udicl  •:  ad 
Uerfario.ff.co.hp20cnr3t02ein.rT.reniratnm 
^abe.ne  farifdano  he  mult  or  c:tuio  Uttere  re 
uocaoite.SedquareDicitpoft  Ut.  contedn^ 
nuinir  a  contrano  fen  fu.q-  ante  li.  contelta. 
poflet  reu  ccano  fieri  etiam  ignoiante  uidice 
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man.fi  mandaiTein.illad  in  ncaoujs  rbi 
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!iiifiainiliaB.§.iplV  quoque.  rnde  tudejc 
imte  lecitqni  illiiiii  adnufu  .nilufTemH/ 
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lit  «tf. 


Reduced  facsimile  of  a  page  of  the  Decretals. 


174       Leads  needed  for  notes  and  text 

must  be  split  and  put  in  piecemeal  on  other  ad- 
vanced pages.  To  take  back  or  to  drive  out  notes 
heedlessly  planned  seems  equally  impracticable.1 


SMALL    TYPES  PREFERRED   FOR  ALL  NOTES 

To  diminish  the  annoyance  made  by  notes,  pub- 
lishers and  printers  have  agreed  on  the  policy  of 
setting  them  in  small  type  and  crowding  them  in 
the  smallest  space.  A  text  in  twelve-point  leaded 
may  have  its  notes  in  eight-  or  seven-point  solid. 
So  treated,  the  density  of  the  small  type  and  the 
openness  of  the  large  type  are  in  violent  contrast 
and  make  a  forbidding  page.  When  leading  can 
be  permitted  it  is  better  practice  to  lead  both  text 
and  note,  always  giving  to  the  text  the  thicker 
and  to  the  note  the  thinner  lead.  A  quarto  or  an 
octavo  in  single-leaded  type  on  twelve-point  body 
may  have  its  notes  in  eight-  or  seven-point,  with  six- 
to-pica  leads  for  the  text  and  but  ten-to-pica  for  the 
notes.  A  duodecimo  in  ten-point  may  have  notes 
in  six-point,  with  a  similar  discrimination  in  the 
selection  of  appropriate  leads  for  each  body. 

must  have  been  an  affliction  to  1  The    reduced    facsimile    on 

be  avoided  by  the  compositors,  page  172  (one  of  the  few  which 

In  his  preface  Marchand  apolo-  could  be  intelligibly  produced) 

gizes  for  its  delayed  publication,  gives  but  an  imperfect  presenta- 

caused  by  the  idleness  [!]  and  tion  of  the  complications  met  in 

dissipation  of  the  printers,  which  the  making-up  of  this  book, 

he  says  is  a  fresh  confirmation  of  Immediately  following  (page 

an  old  complaint  of  men  of  letters  173)  is  the  facsimile  of  a  page 

against  the  abuses  of  printing.  from  the  Decretals  of  Gratianus, 


References  for  foot-notes  175 

When  the  inserts  put  in  a  text  are  set  in  smaller 
type  it  is  desirable  to  make  clear  to  the  reader,  by 
the  use  of  still  smaller  type,  the  relatively  inferior 
value  of  the  notes ;  but  the  inserts  and  the  notes 
should  be  of  the  same  face  as  that  of  the  text  (un- 
less for  an  attempted  facsimile  in  black-letter  or 
old  style),  and  should  further  show  their  mutual  re- 
lationship by  a  graduated  diminution  in  the  thick- 
ness of  leads.  To  lead  notes  with  the  thick  lead 
selected  for  the  text  is  always  a  blemish. 

OLD  SIGNS  OF  REFERENCE  DISUSED 

The  signs  that  were  selected  for  many  years  to 
refer  to  notes,  *  t  }  ||  §  and  ff,  and  are  still  made 
a  part  of  every  font  of  book  type,  are  now  rated 
as  disfigurements  to  the  page.  Superior  letters 
or  figures  are  preferred  as  more  sightly  and  not  so 
obtrusive,  but  when  these  references  are  made  by 
the  use  of  letters  or  figures  upon  a  body  one  half 
that  of  the  text  they  may  be  as  objectionable  by 
reason  of  their  pettiness  as  are  signs  by  their  ob- 
trusiveness.  The  regular  superior  figures  made 

a  book  of  1400  pages,  printed  at  been  spent  in  overrunning  type 
Venice  in  1498  by  Andrew  Tore-  to  adapt  notes  to  text  and  text 
sani,  the  successor  of  Nicolas  to  notes  than  was  given  to  the 
Jenson,  and  the  father-in-law  of  first  composition.  It  is  another 
Aldus  Manutius,  who  became,  in  exhibit  pf  the  frequent  abbrevia- 
turn,  his  successor.  Every  page  tions  and  narrow  measures  that 
of  text  (some  of  a  few  lines  only)  had  to  be  adopted  by  early  corn- 
is  surrounded  on  each  side  by  positors  to  keep  together  the 
notes.  More  time  must  have  notes  and  the  text. 


176 

by  the  founders  for  this  purpose  are  more  satis- 
factory, and  are  most  frequently  used. 

123456789  123456789 

Four-point  figures.  Regular  superior  figures. 

In  mathematical  work,  however,  the  old  signs  may 
be  used  instead  of  superior  figures  to  distinguish 
note  references  from  powers  of  numbers,  letters,  etc. 


NOTES  IN  BROAD  MEASURE 

When  notes  are  few  and  short  it  is  customary  to 
set  them  as  regular  paragraphs  to  the  full  width 
of  the  measure,  with  the  same  indention  as  that 
of  paragraphs  of  text.  Wherever  it  is  practicable, 
the  reference-mark  should  be  separated  by  a  space 
from  the  first  letter  of  the  note.  Notes  are  always 
unsightly  when  they  consist  mainly  of  abbreviated 
citations  of  books,  which  in  many  cases  overrun 
one  or  two  words  on  the  second  line,  thereby  mak- 
ing needless  and  wasteful  gaps  of  white  space.  (See 
page  58.)  The  old  method  of  closing  the  gaps  by 
allowing  note  2  to  follow  note  1,  and  making  all 
the  notes  one  solid  paragraph  (as  appears  in  the 
subnotes  on  page  172  of  this  book),  is  no  longer 
allowed.  As  a  rule,  the  author  wants  a  separate 
paragraph  or  line  for  each  note,  but  separate  para- 
graphs may  make  unsightly  blanks  when  their  last 
lines  have  but  a  few  letters. 

When  there  is  but  one  note  to  the  page,  and  that 


Notes  do  not  need  dividing  rules       177 

note  is  short  and  does  not  fill  the  line,  it  may  be 
set  in  the  centre  of  the  line.  When  there  are  two 
or  more  short  notes  to  the  page,  they  may  be  put 
in  half  measure,  if  each  note  has  enough  of  white 
space  at  the  end  of  every  paragraph  to  make  it 
readily  distinguishable  as  a  separate  note.  (See 
page  28.) 

The  old-fashioned  paragraph  indention  (which  is 
objectionable  in  a  succession  of  short  notes  in  full 
measure  that  make  wide  blanks  at  the  ends  of  the 
second  lines)  can  be  avoided,  when  there  is  only 
one  note  to  the  page,  by  centring  the  second  line. 

When  the  only  note  on  a  page  makes  more  than 
one  line,  and  overruns  a  few  words  on  the  second 
line,  centre  both  lines  after  this  fashion — 

The  second  line  of  this  note  should  be  centred 
and  nearly  as  long  as  the  first  line. 

If  there  are  not  words  enough  to  make  a  fair  show- 
ing of  the  second  line,  shorten  the  first  line  by  equal 
indention  on  each  side. 

DIVIDING-RULES  OUT  OF   FAVOR 

It  was  an  old  fashion  to  separate  the  note  from 
the  text  by  a  hair-line  rule  that  extended  the  full 
width  of  the  measure.  Some  printers  used  a  short 
rule  in  the  centre  or  at  the  left  of  the  measure  for  the 
same  purpose.  These  fashions  now  find  few  imi- 
tators, for  there  is  no  need  of  a  cross-rule  in  a  book 
of  text  and  notes  only.  When  extracts  in  the  text 


178      Notes  in  half  measure  to  be  preferred 

are  in  types  but  little  larger  than  the  note  type,  a 
cross-rule  may  be  of  service  in  separating  notes 
from  extracts.  When  notes  are  in  half  measure 
the  cross-rule  is  not  needed. 


The  hair-line  rule  over  the  note  or  under  the  running  title  is 
often  of  thin  brass,  with  its  face  cut  to  a  sharp  angle.  This  face, 
easily  bent  or  gapped,  is  electrotyped  with  difficulty,  and  it  may 
appear  in  print  with  the  defects  of  gaps  or  crookedness,  or  thick 
at  one  end  of  the  line  and  thin  at  the  other.  It  is  rare  to  find  in 
any  book  hair-line  rules  printed  with  perfect  uniformity. 


NOTES  IN  HALF  MEASURE 

When  small  type  is  selected  for  foot-notes  that 
may  be  of  unequal  length,  the  notes  may  be  put  in 
half  measure.  The  space  between  the  two  columns 
should  not  be  wider  than  the  em  quad  of  the  type 
of  the  note,  and  may  be  still  narrower.  The  half- 
measure  note  saves  space  in  turned-over  lines,  and 
presents  a  neater  appearance  than  that  made  by 
the  straggling  lines  of  the  broad  measure,  with  its 
frequent  gaps  of  white  produced  by  short  lines  that 
sometimes  contain  one  syllable  only. 

The  note  in  half  measure  may  broad  measure)  is  not  so  offen- 

show  an  uneven  number  of  lines  sive  in  the  half  measure,  for  by 

in  the  two  parallel  columns,  but  that  treatment  the  blank  must 

the  gap  of  white  space  at  the  end  be  less  than  that  of  some  over- 

(sometimes  nine  tenths  of  the  turns  of  a  broad  measure. 

The  use  of  half  measure  for  notes  gives  to  them 
a  distinction  that  they  do  not  have  when  set  in  a 
broad  measure,  and  it  differentiates  them  from  the 


Usual  widths  for  side-notes          179 

extracts  in  a  much  clearer  manner.  This  method 
will  be  found  of  service  in  giving  a  neater  appear- 
ance to  the  page,  especially  when  the  notes  are 
mainly  made  up  of  short  citations,  for  they  can  be 
kept  apart  much  better  than  when  they  have  been 
set  to  appear  in  broad  measure. 

1  Note  1  is  distinct,  for  it  stands  2  Note  2  is  equally  distinct ;  it 
apart  in  its  own  column,  and  does  stands  apart  from  note  1,  and 
not  seem  a  part  of  note  2.  cannot  be  confused  with  it. 

Half  measure  should  not  be  used  for  long  lines  of 
poetry,  nor  for  the  only  note  on  a  page  when  that 
note  makes  but  two  nearly  full  lines;  but  three 
lines  will  justify  the  use  of  half  measure. 

When  long  lines  of  verse  are  put  in  a  note  it  is 
injudicious  to  break  these  lines  in  the  middle  to 
accommodate  them  to  the  half  measure.1  It  is  a 
better  practice  to  use  the  broad  measure  ;  but  when 
the  verse  will  not  be  broken,  the  half  measure  will 
be  found  more  acceptable.2 

SIDE-NOTES 

Side-notes,  which  add  to  the  expense  of  composi- 
tion, are  not  used  as  much  as  they  were  fifty  years 
ago.  The  widths  oftenest  selected  are  one  broad 
quotation  (eight  ems  of  six-point)  and  two  narrow 
quotations  (twelve  ems  of  six-point).  Types  larger 
than  six-point  are  seldom  selected  for  explanatory 
matter  in  these  narrow  measures. 

1  See  notes  on  page  110.  2  See  note  on  page  52. 


180  Types  used  for  cut-in  notes 

Italic  lower-ease,  frequently  approved  by  many  au- 
thors, is  not  a  good  selection ;  for  italic  has  kerns 
which  are  easily  broken,  and  its  inclined  letters 
contrast  badly  with  the  upright  arabic  figures  that 
have  to  be  used  to  specify  dates,  pages,  or  years. 
When  permitted,  use  roman  for  side-notes. 

CUT-IN  NOTES 

Cut-in  notes,  more  troublesome  than  side-notes,  are 
usually  set  in  roman  lower-case  at  least  three  sizes 
smaller  than  the  type  of  the  text.  They  need  less 
space  than  subheadings.  When  set 
with  a  broad  and  clearly  defined  white 
line  around  each  note  they  have  dis- 
tinction enough  to  compel  the  notice  of  a  student. 
A  short  square  of  white  space  in  the  text  is  an 
unusual  form  which  attracts  attention,  but  it  does 
School-book  no^  off611^  the  eye,  as  does  any  kind 
note  in  light  of  bold  jobbing  type,  which  spots  the 

antique  type.    page   ]^&   &  blot   Qf  ink        Request   ig 

often  made  by  publishers,  who  wish  to  give  to  cut- 
in  notes  the  boldness  of  subheadings,  for  types  of 
a  bolder  face,  like  antique  or  condensed  title-letter. 

,       These  bold  types  are  not  wisely  chosen 
Advertiser  s    for  any  standard  book     They  may  be 

used  in  school-books,  but  they  carry 
with  them  the  suggestion  of  the  overbold  display 
of  the  advertising  pamphlet.  Italic  is  objection- 
able not  only  for  its  frailty,  but  for  its  weaken- 


Centre-  and  shoulder-notes  181 

ing  of  the  emphasis  that  may  be  more  needed  for 
the  words  or  phrases  of  italic  in  the  text.  This 
objection  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  selection 
of  italic  for  side-notes. 


CENTRE-NOTES 

Centre-notes  are  rarely  used,  although  they  are  un- 
avoidable in  pocket  editions  of  the  Scriptures,  for 
which  pearl  or  diamond  types  are  required,  with 
still  smaller  characters  in  roman  and  italic  for  the 
signs  to  indicate  the  references.  For  this  purpose 
superior  letters  are  preferred  to  superior  figures. 

SHOULDER-NOTE 

is  the  name  given  to  the  note  that  appears  in  the 
upper  and  outer  corner  only  of  the  page.  They 
are  used  in  law  work  to  define  sections  or  chap- 
ters, or  for  special  purposes  of  cross-reference,  as 
well  as  in  historical  work  to  specify  dates.  The 
words  SECTION  rv.  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of 
the  facsimile  from  Marchand  (page  172)  show  the 
position  and  style  of  the  old-fashioned  shoulder- 
note. 


12 


XI 


INDENTION 

RINTED  WORDS  need  the  relief  of  a 
surrounding  blank  as  much  as  figures 
in  a  landscape  need  background  or 
contrast,  perspective  or  atmosphere. 
Even  in  a  book  of  solid  composition 
there  is  invariably  more  white  than  black  on  the 
page.  Much  of  it  may  be  in  the  margin,  but  the 
amount  of  white  put  between  the  lines  and  within 
each  letter  is  greater  than  is  supposed.  It  is  not 
merely  by  the  selection  of  suitable  types,  but  by 
the  graduation  of  blank  space  about  its  lines,  that 
a  title-page  is  made  attractive  or  repelling.  When 
these  blanks  have  been  removed  from  a  properly 
spaced  title-page,  and  the  lines  are  huddled,  the 
effect  produced  will  be  as  unpleasing  as  that  of  a 
squeezed  theatrical  advertisement  in  a  newspaper. 
On  the  contrary,  too  much  relief  of  white  space 

182 


Types  need  relief  of  blank  space       183 

may  be  as  unpleasing  as  too  little.  If  the  blanks 
of  the  title  are  too  wide,  so  that  the  coherence  of 
straggling  lines  is  not  apparent  at  first  glance,  the 
eft'ect  of  good  composition  is  destroyed. 

What  is  of  value  for  the  title-page  is  of  value 
also  for  the  page  of  text.  White  space  is  required 
to  make  printing  comprehensible.  A  new  chapter 
is  identified  at  once  by  a  larger  allowance  of  blank 
at  the  top  of  that  page.  A  change  of  importance 
in  the  subject-matter  of  the  text,  like  that  of  a 
document,  extract,  or  letter,  is  more  plainly  indi- 
cated by  putting  a  full  blank  line  before  and  after 
the  insert.  A  change  of  minor  importance  is  in- 
dicated by  putting  a  small  square  of  white,  known 
as  the  em  quadrat,  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  para- 
graph. This  petty  square  of  white  makes  a  break 
in  the  regular  outline  of  the  page  which  arrests 
attention  almost  as  plainly  and  more  neatly  than 
was  done  by  the  ^f  or  41  which  were  the  para- 
graph-marks of  the  early  printers.1 

Much  more  might  be  said  about  the  importance 
of  suitable  blanks  for  title-pages  and  chapter  head- 
ings, but  the  relief  of  white  space  produced  by  the 
quadrats  which  are  most  used  in  the  composition  of 
book  texts  is  all  that  can  be  considered  under  this 

l  The  repetition  of  these  tru-  ing  methods  of  huddling  words 

isms  may  be  of  small  value  to  which  deservedly  have  been  dis- 

compositors  who  have  had  ex-  carded  for  centuries.      For  an 

perience  in  type-setting,  but  it  illustration  of  the  old  methods 

seems  to  be  sorely  needed  by  the  of  pinching  space  and  huddling 

amateurs  and  the  young  com-  words,  see  facsimiles  on  pages 

positors  who  are  servilely  imitat-  34  and  173  of  this  book. 


184        Indentions  of  one  em  preferred 

heading.  The  quadrats  are  enough  to  enable  the 
compositor  to  make  the  forms  of  indention  known 
as  regular  paragraph,  hanging,  motto,  lozenge  or 
diamond,  half-diamond,  squared,  and  diagonal. 

PARAGRAPH   INDENTION 

The  one-em  indention  for  the  regular  paragraph  is 
most  frequent,  but  indention  changes  with  varied 
forms  of  composition.  For  solid  matter,  one  em 
at  the  beginning  of  a  paragraph  is  enough  to  give 
the  intended  distinction  of  a  change  of  subject. 
When  the  matter  is  wide  leaded  or  white-lined, 
and  the  white  space  between  lines  is  thereby  made 
larger,  two-  or  three-em  quadrats  are  often  used. 
These  wide  indentions  are  striking,  but  they  have 
disadvantages.  If  the  preceding  paragraph  ends 
with  a  single  syllable,  it  is  practically  separated 
from  its  following  paragraph  by  a  full  white  line 
of  irregular  shape,  which  makes  an  awkward  gap. 

part  of  a  paragraph  ending  with  the  overrun  word 
so. 

The  overrun  of  the  word  so  and  the  wide  inden- 
tion practically  make  an  awkward  white  line  be- 
tween the  two  paragraphs,  where  it  is  not  needed. 

To  prevent  this  disfigurement  the  closing  lines  of 
the  first  paragraph  are  often  overrun  and  more 
widely  spaced,  so  that  the  last  word  shall  pass 
beyond  the  indention  of  the  second  paragraph. 
This  hides  the  blemish  of  an  irregular  white  line, 
but  it  makes  objectionably  uneven  spacing. 


Deep  indentions  wasteful  of  space      185 

The  very  wide  indentions  made  by  penmen,  who 
sometimes  begin  a  new  paragraph  in  or  near  the 
centre  of  the  sheet,  should  not  be  imitated  in  print. 
They  are  unpleasing  even  in  script  type. 

There  are  some  kinds  of  composition  for  which 
the  indention  of  one  em  only  is  insufficient.  In  all 
dialogue  matter  of  many  short  paragraphs,  some 
of  them  beginning  with  marks  of  quotation  and 
some  without,  the  indention  of  one  em  and  two  thick 
spaces  is  sometimes  used  for  unquoted  paragraphs, 
and  of  one  em  only  for  paragraphs  with  quotation- 
marks.  As  the  two  quotation-marks  and  a  following 
thin  space  (about  the  thickness  of  two  thick  spaces) 
occupy  but  a  small  portion  of  the  type  body,  and 
give  but  little  added  blackness  to  the  print,  they 
do  not  apparently  diminish  the  white  space  pro- 
duced by  the  broader  indention  of  the  unquoted 
paragraphs.1  An  indention  of  one  em  for  quoted 
and  of  one  and  two-third  ems  for  unquoted  para- 
graphs keeps  the  capitals  in  a  vertical  line,  to  the 
improvement  of  the  composition.  When  the  same 
indention  is  made  for  all  paragraphs  the  capitals 
will  be  noticeably  out  of  line. 

Indentions  of  three  ems  or  more  in  a  narrow 
measure  are  almost  as  wasteful  of  space  as  a  full 
white  line.  A  pleasing  appearance  can  be  given 
to  open  composition  by  one-em  indention  and  full 
white  lines  between  the  paragraphs.  The  object  of 
indention,  the  leading  of  the  eye  to  a  noticeable 

1  See  illustrations  on  page  224. 


186    Paragraph  indention  lad  for  display 

white  space  that  indicates  a  break  in  the  discourse 
or  writing,  is  defeated  when  that  blank  is  made 
too  wide,  compelling  the  turning  over  of  too  many 
short  lines.  The  proper  adjustment  of  indention 
and  of  breaks  at  the  ends  of  paragraphs  is  as  im- 
portant as  even  leading  and  even  spacing. 


WHEN  PARAGRAPH  INDENTION  IS  NOT  NEEDED 

The  first  line  of  any  new  chapter,  even  when  that 
line  does  not  begin  with  a  large  initial  letter,  or 
any  first  line  of  type  following  the  white  line  usu- 
ally put  at  the  end  of  an  extract  or  insert,  needs 
no  indention:  the  white  line  above  the  print  is 
sufficient  indication  of  a  change  in  subject-matter. 
Nor  is  the  one-em  indention  required  under  a 
short  line  of  subheading,  but  if  the  heading  fills 
the  measure  the  one-em  indention  is  proper. 


FOR  CIRCULAR  LETTERS 

Type-write  your  letter  or 
circular  on  a  prepared  stencil 
sheet  just  as  you  would  write 
it  on  paper.  Then  put  the  sten- 
cil in 

THE  NEW  MULTIGRAPH 
and  print 

600  COPIES  AN  HOUR 
with,  ease  and  accuracy. 


FOR  CIRCULAR  LETTERS 

Type-write  your  letter  or 
circular  on  a  prepared 
stencil  sheet  just  as  you 
would  write  it  on  paper. 
Then  put  the  stencil  in 

THE  NEW  MULTIGRAPH 

AND  PRINT 

600  COPIES   AN  HOUR 
with  ease  and  accuracy. 


The  regular  paragraph  indention  should  never 
be  used  for  a  few  lines  of  text  in  any  form  of  dis- 
played composition.  These  few  lines  may  be  set 
the  full  width  of  the  measure  when  the  last  line  fills 


The  hanging  indention  marks  a  change     187 

that  measure,  but  they  can  be  narrowed  or  half- 
diamonded  with  better  effect.  Display  is  damaged 
when  there  is  much  unbalanced  irregularity  in  the 
blanks.  When  short  lines  are  centred,  displayed 
lines  have  the  desired  prominence,  and  the  compo- 
sition is  made  more  symmetrical. 

When  two  or  more  sizes  of  type  are  used  on  the 
same  page,  the  paragraph  indention  of  each  size 
should  be  of  uniform  width.  Foot-notes  may  be 
excepted  when  they  are  in  half  measure.  When  a 
foot-note  in  broad  measure  is  a  citation  of  author- 
ity not  exceeding  two  lines,  the  first  line  may  be  full 
or  nearly  full,  but  the  following  line  should  be  cen- 
tred. The  turning  over  in  a  separate  line  of  the 
last  syllable  or  of  a  few  figures  should  be  avoided 
by  thin  spacing  when  it  is  possible  to  do  so. 

HANGING  INDENTION 

When  the  first  paragraph  in  a  book  is  preceded 
by  a  summary  of  its  contents  or  by  a  long  text  or 
motto  under  the  chapter  heading,  or  when  a  long 
rule  or  proposition  within  the  text  is  followed  by 
extended  comment,  the  types  and  the  indention 
of  this  specialized  matter  should  be  perceptibly 
different.  A  change  in  style  as  well  as  in  size  of 
type  is  needed  to  show  a  distinction  in  subject- 
matter.  For  this  purpose  preference  is  often  given 
to  the  hanging  indention,  which  makes  the  first 
line  the  full  width  of  the  measure  and  indents  one 


188     Hanging  indention  for  summaries 

or  more  ems  on  the  left  all  the  lines  following. 
When  space  will  allow,  the  matter  so  treated  may 
be  preceded  and  followed  by  a  full  white  line. 

For  unleaded  composition,  even  in  the  broadest 
measure,  the  one-em  indention  of  the  lines  follow- 
ing the  first  line  is  enough  to  give  the  matter  dis- 
tinction. For  leaded  matter  an  indention  of  one 
and  a  half  ems  is  common,  and  two  or  more  ems 
may  be  used  for  a  summary  in  very  small  type ;  but 
two  ems  may  be  found  too  much  for  widely  leaded 
lines  of  large  type.  A  three-em  indention  in  open 
matter  makes  composition  lopsided  and  unsightly. 
The  slight  projection  of  the  first  line  and  the  slight 
recession  of  the  following  lines  are  enough  to 
arrest  attention.  Summaries  of  contents  under  a 

CHAPITEE   II. 

Son  sejour  en  Italie.— Simon  de  Villeneuve.— Jean  du  Bellay. 
Langey. —  Amours  avec  une  V6nitienne. —  Son  talent  comine 
poe'te  latin. —  Opinion  de  Buchanan  et  de  Scaliger  &  cet  <?gard. 

Boulmier,  Estienne  Dolet. 

chapter  heading,  which  are  usually  set  in  small 
type,  may  receive  indention  of  the  same  width  as 
that  used  for  the  regular  paragraphs  of  the  text. 
Indexes,  directories,  dictionaries,  and  all  similar 
forms  of  composition  abounding  in  short  para- 
graphs, each  beginning  with  a  word  intended  to 
arrest  attention,  should  have  the  first  line  of  each 
paragraph  the  full  width  of  the  measure,  and  all 
following  lines  of  that  paragraph  indented.  With 
small  type  the  indention  of  one  en  is  enough. 


Usefulness  of  half-diamond  indention      189 

paper-mill  (pa'per-mil),  n.      A  mill 

in  which  paper  is  manufactured, 
paper-mulberry  (pa'per-muFber-i), 

n.     See  Broussonetia. 
paper-muslin  (pa'per-muz//lm),  n.  A 

glazed  muslin  used  for  dress-linings 

In  circulars  or  advertisements  consisting  almost 
entirely  of  concise  paragraphs,  often  of  two  and 
never  exceeding  three  lines,  the  hanging  indention 
should  be  preferred.  When  set  in  usual  paragraph 
style  the  projecting  syllable  of  the  second  line  is 
first  seen,  while  the  more  important  first  word  of 
the  paragraph  is  not  so  noticeable.  Composition 
with  projecting  second  lines  that  often  end  with  a 
broad  blank  always  has  a  ragged  and  incoherent 
appearance. 

Dialogue  matter  in  a  book  will  not  be  improved 
by  the  use  of  hanging  indention,  for  it  will  be  at 
variance  with  the  regular  indention  of  other  para- 
graphs, and  will  destroy  the  uniformity  which  is 
of  greater  importance.  The  distinction  of  a  hang- 
ing indention  should  be  given  only  to  a  paragraph 
which  has  some  marked  peculiarity  in  its  subject- 
matter.  The  bad  turnovers  that  may  happen  in 
short  paragraphs  of  dialogue  matter  do  not  war- 
rant the  change  to  a  hanging  indention. 


HALF-DIAMOND   INDENTION 

This  is  a  pleasing  mannerism  of  the  early  printers, 
who  used  it  not  only  for  the  title-pages  of  books, 


190    Good  effect  of  half-diamond  indention 

but  for  the  endings  of  chapters.  The  reader  was 
notified  by  a  gradual  narrowing  of  lines  that  the 
paragraph  so  treated  was  hastening  to  a  point  and 
to  its  end.  The  half-diamond  form  prevented  the 
lopsided  appearance  always  presented  when  the  last 
line  had  few  words  and  showed  great  waste  of  white 
space.  It  was  often  used  with  good  effect  in  the 
title-pages  of  Pickering,  and  it  has  been  revived 
to  advantage,  not  only  for  title-pages,  but  for  other 
forms  of  displayed  composition.  It  gives  promi- 
nence to  display  lines,  whether  they  are  long  or 
short,  and  symmetrically  distributes  the  relief  of 
white  space  that  is  needed  for  the  display  of  type. 

Efiat  tijmt  magtst  tfje  scmw  antr 

eafipejfplre  (mofte  gentle  ^eatie£)  ettt)e^  tije 

name  of  anj>  petfone  oj  anp  otijej  goal) 

mattiej  conteinet  in  tins  booke,  91 

ijaue  l)e^e  aUteti  a  la^ge  anU  plaine 

Cable  afte^  ti)e  ojtye  of  ti)e  a. 

15.  Cfetouttottijtijencmnv 

of  tije  leafe,  lolje^e 
tijouftaltfpntieanp 
Curfje  tjjpng  as 


to  Ijaue 

tbtp 
in. 


Limitations  of  lozenge  indention       191 

The  half-diamond  and  the  lozenge-shaped  inden- 
tions are  unwisely  neglected  in  open  display  work. 
Compositors  frequently  use  paragraph  indention 
for  sentences  of  two  or  three  lines,  even  when  the 
last  line  ends  in  a  turnover  of  five  letters.  It  is 
always  a  blemish  to  allow  an  irregular  white  line  at 
the  end  of  a  line  of  text  and  over  a  line  of  display. 
In  the  title-pages  of  books  half-diamond  inden- 
tion can  be  used  with  good  effect  for  all  groups  of 
words  that  do  not  need  special  display.  It  prevents 
the  useless  display  of  many  lines,  with  their  space- 
wasting  catch-lines,  and  makes  a  pleasing  variation 
in  the  composition  by  its  systematic  irregularity  of 
outline.  It  is  not  a  favored  style  for  dedications, 
in  which  words  are  seldom  found  that  will  allow  of. 
this  treatment  without  the  making  of  bad  spacing 
or  of  divisions  that  are  equally  offensive. 

LOZENGE  INDENTION 

This  form  of  indention  is  troublesome,  for  it  re- 
quires some  preliminary  calculation  of  the  number 
of  words  to  be  so  treated.  The  compositor  begins 
the  work  by  setting  one  word  in  the  centre  of  the 
measure,  and  gradually  increases  the  number  of 
words  in  each  succeeding  line  until  the  measure  is 
filled.  The  indention  in  all  following  lines  is  in- 
creased until  the  matter  closes  in  the  last  line  with 
one  word  only.  The  lines  may  have  to  be  repeat- 
edly reset  and  justified  before  the  proper  shape  is 


192       The  motto  indention  rarely  used 

produced.  When  lozenge  indention  can  be  made 
without  uneven  spacing  or  bad  divisions,  the  effect 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE 

PROCESSES  OF  TYPE-MAKING, 

THE  POINT   SYSTEM,  THE  NAMES,  SIZES, 

STYLES,   AND  PRICES  OF 

PRINTING -TYPES. 

is  pleasing,  but  it  is  unwisely  attempted  within  a 
narrow  measure  and  with  capital  letters  only. 

MOTTO  INDENTION 

This  form  of  indention  is  largely  used  by  French 
.  printers  for  the  mottos  of  title-pages  and  for  para- 
graphs that  call  for  special  attention.  To  make 
it  the  compositor  fills  up  one  half  or  more  of  the 
measure  at  the  left  with  quadrats,  and  sets  the  motto 
in  small  type,  so  that  print  shall  appear  on  the  right 

On  ne  peut  se  flgurer  I'impression 
produite  .  .  .  par  la  mort  du  jeune 
Napoleon  . . .  J'ai  meme  vu  pleurer  de 
jeunes  r6publicains.  Henri  Heine. 

Motto  of  Rostand's  L'Aiglon. 

half  of  the  title-page.  It  is  a  form  used  in  England 
and  America  almost  exclusively  for  some  forms  of 
law  work  in  which  the  mannerisms  of  early  Norman 
copyists  are  still  maintained.  It  gives  a  marked 
prominence  to  subject-matter,  but  the  composition 
so  treated  is  always  unsymmetrical. 


Recent  methods  of  indenting  matter    193 

NO  INDENTION 

A  new  school  of  typography  disapproves  of  the 
old-fashioned  method  of  indenting  paragraphs,  and 
advises  that  the  first  letter  in  the  first  line  of  a 
paragraph  be  set  flush  with  the  measure,  without 
the  preliminary  em  quadrat.  No  objection  can  be 
made  to  this  method  when  this  first  line  has  a  full 
white  line  over  it,  as  is  usual  at  the  beginning  of  a 
chapter,  for  the  white  line  is  an  indication  of  a  new 
subject  as  well  as  of  the  new  paragraph.  When 
matter  is  set  solid,  without  any  white  line  between 
paragraphs,  the  no-indention  method  is  not  to  be 
commended.  It  does  not  help  the  reader,  and  it 
may  confuse  him.  If  the  last  line  of  a  preceding 
paragraph  fills  the  measure,  as  sometimes  happens, 
distinction  between  that  paragraph  and  the  one 
following  is  destroyed.  Without  the  needed  break 
of  white  between,  the  two  paragraphs  are  made  one. 

SQUARED   INDENTION 

This  name  is  given  to  the  squared  and  centred  com- 
position of  short  indented  lines  (often  of  capitals 
only)  now  in  favor  for  undisplayed  parts  of  a  title- 
page.  Every  line  is  set  with  a  wide  indention  on 
each  side,  and  with  first  and  last  lines  always  of  the 
full  width  of  the  narrowed  measure,  so  that  they  will 
take  the  form  of  a  symmetrical  square.  This  method 
is  one  form  of  rebellion  against  the  old  displayed 


194     Limitations  of  the  squared  indention 

title-page  which  separated  words  in  many  lines 
of  unequal  length,  making  some  absurdly  large 
and  others  (catch-lines)  unduly  small,  much  to  the 
waste  of  the  white  space  really  needed  for  a  proper 
relief  to  the  few  lines  of  display.  The  new  fashion 
is  as  artificial  as  the  old,  much  more  troublesome, 
and  sometimes  more  unsightly.  To  make  perfect 
all  the  lines  of  a  squared  paragraph  of  capital  let- 
ters in  a  narrow  measure,  the  words  in  some  lines 
may  have  to  be  spaced  between  the  letters ;  in  other 

OBSERVATIONS  CONCERNING 
SPELLING,  ABBREVIATIONS, 
COMPOUND  WORDS,  ITALIC, 
FIGURES,  NUMERALS,  SMALL- 
CAPITAL  AND  CAPITAL  LET- 
TERS, DIVISION  OF  WORDS, 
EXTRACTS,  LETTERS,  NOTES, 
INDENTION,  EVEN  SPACING. 

In  thiB  illustration  of  squaring,  the  letters  are  not  hair-spaced,  but  the  spaces 
between  the  words  are  objectionably  uneven.  Judicious  hair-spacing  is  needed 
to  lessen  the  gaps  in  the  second,  third,  and  eighth  lines. 

lines  the  words  may  have  to  be  separated  by  spaces 
which  are  too  thick  or  too  thin.  When  this  uneven 
spacing  has  been  made,  the  letters  in  some  lines 
seem  to  belong  to  different  fonts.  The  spacing  of 
letters  changes  the  color  of  the  lines ;  some  words 
will  seem  too  light  and  others  too  dark,  and  the 
general  effect  will  be  as  disagreeable  to  a  critical 
eye  as  that  which  would  be  produced  by  double  or 
triple  leading  between  some  lines  and  the  entire 
omission  of  leads  between  other  lines. 


Irregular  indention  for  extracts  and  letters  195 

DIAGONAL  INDENTION 

When  two  or  more  words  intended  for  display  in  a 
poster  or  an  advertisement  are  of  nearly  the  same 
length,  and  are  of  equal  value,  but  cannot  be  set 
in  one  line  properly,  and  cannot  be  put  in  separate 
and  full  lines  without  making  a  display  too  bold 
for  the  occasion,  nor  centred  without  awkwardness 
of  effect,  they  may  be  arranged  diagonally  in  this 
fashion : 

COURIER 

GAZETTE 

TRIBUNE 

This  can  be  done  with  a  better  effect  when  there  is 
ample  space  for  the  use  of  leads  to  separate  lines, 
but  the  triangular  gaps  of  white  do  not  favor  easy 
composition  on  the  side.  Advertisers  often  fill  the 
blanks  with  small  type. 

In  a  circular  of  plain  and  undisplayed  type,  the 
diagonal  indention  is  wisely  used  for  the  address 
of  corporations  or  societies  which  have  titles  too 
long  to  be  arranged  in  one  or  two  lines.  It  is  the 
proper  method  for  composing  type  in  imitation  of 
the  superscription  of  the  address  on  an  envelope. 

IRREGULAR  INDENTION 

Extracts  inserted  in  the  body  of  the  text  are  often 
indented  evenly  with  one  em  or  two  ems  on  each 


196     System  needed  in  irregular  indentions 

side  of  the  full  measure.  Another  method  indents 
the  extracts  two  or  more  ems  at  the  left  and  allows 
all  lines  to  be  flush  at  the  right.1 

Date-lines  and  signature-lines  are  habitually  in- 
dented one  em  at  the  right  end  of  the  line.  When 
there  are  many  signatures  to  a  document,  each  name 
must  begin  evenly  at  an  arbitrarily  fixed  point  on 
the  left,  regardless  of  the  space  made  at  the  ending. 

An  address  to  a  person  or  corporation  at  the 
beginning  of  a  letter  needs  no  indention  for  its 
first  line,  but  the  formal  complimentary  salutation 
of  Dear  Sir  or  Gentlemen,  which  is  intended  to 
follow  the  name  of  the  person  or  the  firm,  should 
be  indented  one  em. 

The  complimentary  conclusion  of  Yours  truly 
and  similar  phrases  should  be  in  a  separate  line, 
and  indented,  when  it  can  be  done,  so  that  the  last 
letter  of  the  preceding  line  shall  be  at  a  regular 
distance  from  the  beginning  of  the  following  line. 

There  are  other  forms  of  irregular  composition 
for  which  set  rules  cannot  be  given,  but  this  gen- 
eral rule  may  be  observed :  to  give  needed  promi- 
nence to  lines,  space  should  be  as  evenly  distributed 
as  the  nature  of  the  work  will  allow. 

Nor  can  arbitrary  rules  be  given  for  the  indention 
of  poetry.  It  is  customary  to  give  similar  inden- 
tion to  the  lines  that  rime,  but  there  are  authors 
who  insist  on  their  own  treatment  of  indention, 

l  See  chapters  on  Small  Capitals,  Extracts  and  Letters, 
and  Subheadings  for  fuller  illustration. 


Irregular  indention  of  poems          197 

which  is  sometimes  notably  irregular.  Reprints 
of  the  sonnets  of  the  seventeenth  century  should 
preserve  the  indention  of  their  first  editions. 

Since  honour  from  the  honourer  proceeds, 
How  well  do  they  deserve,  that  memorize 
And  leave  in  books  for  all  posterities 

The  names  of  worthies  and  their  virtuous  deeds; 

When  all  their  glory  else,  like  water- weeds 
Without  their  element,  presently  dies, 
And  all  their  greatness  quite  forgotten  lies, 

And  when  and  how  they  flourished  no  man  heeds ! 

How  poor  remembrances  are  statues,  tombs, 
And  other  monuments  that  men  erect 

To  princes,  which  remain  in  closed  rooms 
Where  but  few  behold  them,  in  respect 
Of  books,  that  to  the  universal  eye 
Show  how  they  lived ;  the  other  where  they  lie ! 

John  Florio,  1615. 

As  a  collection  of  poems  in  different  measures  must 
have  lines  of  unequal  length,  it  is  impracticable  to 
give  rules  for  absolute  uniformity,  but  care  should 
be  taken  to  regulate  the  indention  so  that  lines  will 
not  turn  over  unnecessarily.  Odes  with  lines  of 
uneven  length  must  be  indented  irregularly,  to  keep 
the  body  of  the  text  matter  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  the  middle  of  the  page.  When  odes  are  set  in 
narrow  measure,  it  is  better  to  turn  over  an  occa- 
sional long  line  rather  than  print  most  of  the  lines 
out  of  centre. 


13 


XII 


SPACING 

COMPOSITION  is  made  more  pleasing 
when  the  spaces  between  words  seem 
to  be  of  the  same  width  in  all  lines  on 
the  page.  A  reader  is  repelled  by  print 
in  which  words  have  been  separated, 
as  they  may  be  occasionally,  by  two  three-to-em 
spaces  in  the  first  and  by  five-to-em  spaces  in 
the  next  line.  Quite  as  unsightly  are  lines  that  have 
been  thick-spaced  at  one  side  and  thin-spaced  at 
the  other.  Spacing  of  either  kind,  as  is  shown  in 
this  paragraph,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  printer  ;  it  is  a 
fault  for  which  there  is  seldom  acceptable  excuse. 
Even  spacing  is  not  easily  secured.  Whether  the 
measure  is  narrow  or  wide,  whether  the  type  is  fat 
or  lean,  the  compositor  has  to  put  in  type  the  words 
as  set  down  in  his  copy.  He  must  divide  words  on 
syllables  only  ;  but  some  syllables  and  some  words 

198 


Irregular  letters  make  irregular  spacing  199 

have  many  letters  and  may  not  be  divided  at  all. 
He  cannot  compress  the  types,  or  abbreviate  a  long 
word,  as  was  the  prevailing  practice  in  the  early 
days  of  type-setting.  He  often  faces  the  dilemma 
of  a  bad  division  to  prevent  wide  spacing  in  one 
line  and  thin  spacing  in  the  next  line.  To  avoid 
either  fault  he  may  have  to  overrun  and  respace 
preceding  lines  so  that  he  can  take  in  or  drive  out 
the  clumsy  word  that  threatens  uneven  spacing  or 
wrong  division.  In  an  ordinary  measure,  twenty 
ems  or  more  wide,  the  threatened  blemish  may  be 
prevented  by  overrunning,  but  there  may  be  narrow 
measures  in  which  this  expedient  is  impracticable. 
Even  in  a  broad  measure  he  will  find  indivisible 
words,  proper  names,  and  large  amounts  in  arabic 
figures,  which  are  great  hindrances  to  even  spacing. 
It  follows  that  absolute  uniformity  in  spacing  is 
impossible.  When  we  insist  upon  the  division  of 
words  on  syllables  only,  we  must  tolerate  some  un- 
evenness  in  spacing,  and  be  content  with  approxi- 
mations to  an  ideal  but  unreached  standard. 


LETTERS  NEED  SPACES  OF  UNEQUAL  WIDTH 

To  make  spacing  seem  even,  the  spaces  between 
words  must  not  be  of  the  same  width.  Allowance 
must  be  made  for  some  irregularities  in  the  shape 
of  different  characters :  letters  like  o  and  e  occupy 
but  one  half  of  the  type  body ;  points  like  .  ,  —  ' 
much  less  than  one  half ;  ascending  or  descending 


200      How  to  vary  the  spacing  of  words 

letters,  like  d,  b,  g,  y,  and  the  capitals,  about  three 
fourths ;  others,  like  j  and  Q,  nearly  the  full  height 
of  the  type  body.  Some  are  upright,  like  I  and  H ; 
others  are  angled,  like  A  and  L,  or  Y  and  W.  When 
a  word  ends  with  the  letter  d,  and  the  next  word 
begins  with  the  letter  h  or  H,  the  space  between 

Qdpse-7HYMLj 

them  may  be  wider  than  it  is  between  a  word  end- 
ing with  e  and  the  next  word  beginning  with  o. 
On  the  contrary,  a  word  ending  with  y  when  fol- 
lowed by  another  word  beginning  with  W  should 
have  a  thinner  space  between  them.  Short  let- 
ters like  o,  e,  s,  c,  at  ends  and  beginnings  of  words 
take  thin  spaces.  Irregular  characters,  like  .  ,  ', 
that  fill  but  a  small  portion  of  the  body,  and  angled 
characters,  like  y,  w,  A,  L,  Y,  V,  etc.,  at  the  ending 
and  beginning  of  words,  should  have  the  bits  of 
blanks  made  by  their  irregularities  reckoned  as  a 
part  of  the  spacing.  It  is  not  practicable  to  make 
these  distinctions  with  small  types,  but  a  discrim- 
ination in  the  selection  of  spaces  is  desirable  and 
even  necessary  with  types  larger  than  twelve-point. 
These  niceties  are  possible  in  hand  composition 
only.  In  the  work  of  automatic  type-setting  and 
justifying  machines  a  special  adjustment  of  spaces 
between  words  in  the  same  line  is  impossible.  In 


Faults  of  wide  and  narrow  spacing    201 

newspaper  work  with  type  on  six-  or  seven-point 
body,  unevenness  in  spacing  is  held  of  but  slight 
importance,  but  unevenness  is  not  allowed  in  good 
book- work  from  hand  composition  with  large  type. 
In  the  display  lines  of  title-pages  and  even  of  many 
subheadings,  an  intelligent  discrimination  in  the 
selection  of  spaces  is  of  great  importance. 


TOO   WIDE  AND  TOO  NARROW   SPACING 

For  solid  composition  in  ordinary  lower-case  let- 
ters of  standard  width  the  space  most  used  is  the 
three-to-em  space.  For  wide-leaded  matter  the  en 
quadrat  is  frequently  substituted,  and  this  is  wide 
enough  for  most  open  composition.  The 
"pigeonholing"  of  matter  produced  by  the 
use  of  two  thick  spaces  or  of  em  quadrats 
between  words  in  wide-leaded  matter,  as  is 
shown  in  these  lines,  was  once  in  fashion, 
but  it  is  now  generally  disapproved. 

Five-to-em-  or  hair-spacing  of  lines  of  text  may 
be  passed  occasionally  in  solid  composition  when 
ordered  on  the  final  revised  proof  of  an  author, 
but  it  is  offensive  in  leaded  matter.  It  must  be 
tolerated  when  it  prevents  the  turning  over  of  a 
syllable  in  a  line  of  poetry,  yet  it  is  unsightly. 
The  hair-spacing  of  solid  composition,  sometimes  un- 
avoidable  in  the  final  correction  of  hurried  proofs,  is 
shown  in  two  lines  of  this  sentence,  and  may  be 
found  in  good  work,  but  it  is  always  a  misfortune. 


202         Spacing  of  fat  and  lean  types 

Uneven  spacing  in  the  same  line  is  without  excuse. 
When  three-to-em  spaces  do  not  fill  the  measure 
they  must  be  supplanted  with  en  quadrats  or  two 
five -to -em  spaces.  When  three-to-em  spaces  are 
too  much  they  should  be  changed  for  four- to -em 
or  five-to-em  spaces.  In  composition  by  hand  this 
change  of  spaces  should  be  evenly  done  between 
all  words  as  far  as  the  irregular  forms  of  meeting- 
letters  will  allow. 

It  is  always  desirable  to  have  a  little  blank  at 
the  end  of  a  paragraph  to  show  more  plainly  the 
ending  of  the  last  line  of  that  paragraph,  but  this 
last  line  should  not  be  spaced  closer  or  wider  than 
the  preceding  line. 

LEAN  AND   FAT  TYPES  NOT  SPACED  ALIKE 

A  fat  letter  of  fifteen  or  more  ems  to  the  alphabet 
will  bear  much  wider  spacing  than  a  thin  letter  of 
twelve  ems  or  less.  Condensed  letter,  on  the  con- 

Tiiis  form  of  condensed  type  should  be  spaced  with  five-to-em  spaces 

For  expanded  type  use  en  quadrat 

trary,  should  be  thin-spaced  invariably.  The  proper 
space  between  words  in  any  type  is  fairly  indicated 
by  the  blanks  between  the  stems  of  the  letters  m 
and  n  of  that  type,  which  will  be  wide  in  fat  and 
narrow  in  lean  type,  and  should  be  a  safe  guide  for 
the  determination  of  correct  spacing. 


Capitals  need  a  wider  spacing         203 

SPACING   OF  CAPITAL  LETTERS 

The  composition  of  capital  letters  only,  which  are 
generally  twice  as  high  and  twice  as  wide  as  the 
round  letters  of  the  lower-case  series,  needs  spaces 
twice  as  wide  as  those  between  lower-case  words, 
and  leads  twice  as  thick  as  those  between  lower- 
case lines.  The  en  quadrat  is  the  least  permissible 
space  between  words  set  in  capitals ;  two  three-to- 
em  spaces  are  better,  but  the  em  quadrat  may  be 
allowed  in  a  head-line  of  two-line  letter  when  it  is 
surrounded  by  much  open  space. 

IN  THESE  LINES  OF  CAPITALS 
THE  WORDS  IN  THE  LINES  ARE 
HUDDLED  AND  HARD  TO  READ  * 

THE  WIDER  SPACING  AND  THE 
THICKER  LEADING  OF  THESE 
LINES  MAKE  EASIER  READING 

Capital  letters  in  all  lines  of  large  display  often 
require  unequal  spacing,  for  characters  like  A,  Y, 
L,  J,  P,  V,  W  are  of  irregular  form,  and  when  two 

i  Thin  spacing  is  practised  by  The  em  quadrat  between  sen- 
several  eminent  disciples  of  the  tences  and  the  three-to-em  space 
fifteenth-century  school  of  ty-  between  words  are  rated  as  waste 
pography,  apparently  on  these  white  space,  and  are  a  vexation 
grounds  :  As  the  early  printers  to  one  who  admires  the  manner- 
made  exclusive  use  of  one  thin  isms  of  medieval  copyists.  If 
space,  we  should  use  the  thin  a  sentence  ends  within  the  line, 
space  only.  It  is  held  that  this  omit  all  space  after  it ;  let  the 
thin  space  is  wide  enough  to  sep-  capital  letter  of  the  new  press  on 
arate  words  and  even  sentences,  the  period  of  the  last  sentence. 


204  Spacing  of  upright  letters 

or  more  meet  in  one  word,  and  are  preceded  by 
upright  regular  letters,  the  irregular  letters  show 
too  much  of  white  between  their  stems  or  thick 
strokes.  The  unpleasant  contrast  between  regular 
and  irregular  characters  can  be  diminished  by  put- 
ting a  thin  space  between  all  the  upright  letters. 
When  capitals  with  upright  stems  are  thin-spaced 
and  meet  letters  of  irregular  form  not  spaced,  all 
will  seem  to  be  apart  at  uniform  distance. 

HEMINGWAY  HEMINGWAY 

When  there  is  much  white  space  on  the  page  or 
about  one  or  more  lines  of  capital  letters  printed 
thereon,  single  capital  letters  may  be  wide-spaced 
with  propriety,  providing  that  the  spacing  be  made 
apparently  uniform  in  all  lines,  and  will  not  pro- 
duce unsightly  divisions  of  some  syllables.  If  sin- 
gle letters  are  spaced,  the  ordinary  spacing  between 
words  should  be  proportionately  increased.  In  no 
case,  however,  should  the  space  between  single  let- 
ters be  greater  than  that  between  adjacent  lines. 
It  is  a  sad  disfigurement  to  a  title-page  to  have  two 
picas  between  the  letters  of  a  bold  display  line  and 
but  one  pica  of  blank  between  the  proximate  lines. 

SPACING  AFFECTED   BY  PUNCTUATION 

Quote-marks  should  have  hair-spaces  put  between 
them  and  the  quoted  matter  in  every  place  where 


Spacing  modified  by  punctuation          205 

they  abut  or  interfere  with  upright  letters.  The 
capital  A,  with  its  broad-angled  shoulder,  does  not 
need  this  intervening  hair-space,  nor  is  it  needed 
in  a  closing  quote  that  follows  a  period  or  comma, 
but  it  is  needed  in  every  place  where  the  tail  of 
the  quote  touches  the  stem  of  a  letter.  French 
printers  give  more  distinctness  to  the  quote-marks 
by  the  use  of  the  thick  space  before  and  often  after 
all  quotations  that  do  not  end  with  points. 

"These  quote-marks  are  too  close  to  the  letters" 
"  These  quote-marks  set  off  with  proper  space." 

Dashes  used  as  marks  of  punctuation  should  be 
separated  from  their  adjoining  text  letters  by  the 
hair-space  or  the  five-to-em  space.  When  a  comma 
(rarely  needed)  precedes  the  dash,  the  space  may  be 
omitted,  for  the  blank  above  the  comma  is  enough 
to  prevent  its  interference.  In  electrotype  work  the 
f  at  the  end  or  the  j  at  the  beginning  of  a  line,  if 
kerned,  should  have  that  kern  kept  within  the  line 
of  the  page  by  a  protecting  thin  space,  for  the  kern 
may  be  broken  off  in  moulding.  This  remark  ap- 
plies to  all  characters  projecting  beyond  the  page. 

If  it  is  possible  to  do  so  without  uneven  spacing, 
avoid  placing  an  ein  dash  at  the  beginning  or  at 
the  end  of  a  line.  The  dash  makes  a  gap  in  the 
regular  outline  of  the  page. 

Dashes  of  two  ems  or  more  should  not  be  used 
to  mark  a  break.  For  an  ellipsis  make  use  of  three 
periods  two  spaces  apart. 


206      Spacing  of  black-letter  and  script 

SPACING   OF   LETTERS 

In  the  narrow  measure  of  eight  ems  or  less,  as  is 
usual  in  side-notes,  or  in  text  matter  led  down  the 
A  side-note  s^e  °^  illustrations,  there  must  be  some 
unwisely  irregularity  of  spacing.  It  often  hap- 
>ut'  pens  that  one  word  only  can  be  put  in  a 
line,  and  that  this  word  will  not  fill  the  measure  ; 
but  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  close  it  entirely 
A  side-note  ^y  spacing  the  letters  of  that  word,  for 
nnspaced,  this  spacing  of  letters  alters  the  charac- 
it  proper.  £er  an(j  ^e  cojor  of  ^Q  composition,  and 

makes  a  much  more  unpleasing  blemish.  The  un- 
avoidability  of  the  short  line  is  apparent,  and  no 
attempt  need  be  made  to  remedy  unavoidable  fault. 

SPACING   OF  BLACK-LETTER  AND   LOWER-CASE 

Black-letter  should  always  be  thin-spaced  between 
words,  and  thin-leaded,  if  leaded  at  all,  but  it  will 
be  more  pleasing  when  set  solid.  Its  letters  should 
never  be  spaced,  for  the  spirit  of  all  black-letter 
forms  is  based  upon  their  compression  and  com- 
pactness, and  a  widening  of  the  set  or  of  the  space 
between  letters  destroys  the  true  spirit  of  the  style. 


spacing  of  black4etter 
at  its  best  toften  letters  are  unspaceti 

Script  type  should  never  be  wide-spaced  in  any 
position.     When  capital  letters  used  as  abbrevia- 


Spacing  of  lower-case  letters          207 

tions  follow  one  another,  as  in  N.Y.  or  S.C.,  there 
need  be  no  space  between  these  letters. 


Lower-case  characters,  always  of  irregular  shape, 
filling  from  one  fourth  to  three  fourths  of  the  type 
body,  are  made  more  irregular  or  more  sprawling 
by  putting  spaces  between  the  letters.  The  effect 
first  produced  by  the  spacing  of  lower-case  letters  is 
that  of  incoherence ;  the  next  is  that  of  a  too  ap- 
parent striving  after  quaintness  or  eccentricity, 

The   Eve  of  St.  Agnes 

The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes 

which  should  be  unpleasing  to  any  reader.  When 
the  type  selected  is  not  large  enough  to  occupy  the 
measure,  use  type  of  a  larger  size.  If  this  cannot 
be  done,  leave  the  letters  unspaced.1 


l  These  suggestions  are  flatly 
contradicted  by  the  teaching  and 
the  practice  of  a  new  school  of 
typography,  which  directs  that 
all  lines  must  fill  the  measure. 
The  order  must  be  enforced  for 
the  shortest  word  in  the  broadest 


measure.  The  space  to  be  put 
between  letters  may  be  an  en 
quadrat  or  a  three-em  quadrat. 
I  have  seen  the  date  of  1900  at 
the  foot  of  a  title-page  so  widely 
spaced,  with  six  or  more  em  quad- 
rats separating  the  digits,  that 


208      Even  spacing  requires  watchfulness 

Leaded  poetry  may  be  spaced  with  the  en  quadrat, 
especially  when  it  is  double-leaded  or  white-lined ; 
but  the  en  quadrat  does  not  improve  the  appear- 
ance of  poetry  set  solid,  however  wide  the  measure. 
Many  compound  words  in  one  line  may  make  over- 
wide  spacing  between  words.  This  blemish  can  be 
amended  by  putting  a  thin  space  on  each  side  of 
the  hyphen. 

Compositors  on  time,  and  piece-hands  who  make 
alterations  on  time,  have  no  excuse  for  the  neglect 
of  even  spacing.  Piece-compositors  who  have  to 
take  back  and  overrun  for  more  even  spacing  should 
claim  pay  (even  before  first  proof)  for  the  time  so 
spent.  The  proof-reader  who  passes  uneven  spacing 
is  in  fault ;  to  keep  his  own  reputation  he  should 
discipline  compositors  who  are  slovens  in  spacing. 

its  significance  was  not  compre-  century  who  had  scant  supply  of 

hensible  at  first  glance.     This  quadrats  and  had  to  fudge  for 

new  fashion  began  with  the  re-  needed  sorts.   Every  compositor 

cent  revival  of  the  mannerisms  who  has  had  experience  in  any 

of  medieval  illuminators,  who,  petty  printing-house  of  1845  may 

to  give  the  desired  prominence  recall  the  expedients  he  had  to 

to  a  large  and  highly  ornamented  resort  to  in  composing  lines  of 

initial  letter,  ordered  the  copyists  large  types  destitute  of  quadrats 

to  sprawl  dislocated  letters  to  and  spaces.     If  the  first  and  last 

fill  vacant  space  by  the  side  of  letters  of  the  line  to  be  displayed 

or  over  the  initial.     The  proper  were  placed  at  the  ends  of  the 

coherence  of  letters  and  words  measure,  he  could  fill  that  line 

had  to  be  sacrificed;  the  blank  with  spaces  or  quadrats  of  any 

space  had  to  be  filled  whether  it  smaller  body.     To  a  printer  who 

did  or  did  not  justify  lettering.  has  had  this  experience,  it  is  not 

Another  warrant  for  too  wide  a  little  amusing  to  remark  that 

spacing  is  to  be  found  in   the  all  these  imitations  of  scamped 

uncouth  title-pages  of  some  Eng-  workmanship  are  now  paraded 

lish  printers  of  the  seventeenth  as  evidences  of  superior  taste. 


XIII 


QUOTATION-MARKS 

XUOTATION-MARKS  of  commas  only, 
put  in  the  outer  margin,  were  used  by 
Morel  of  Paris  before  1557.  Menage's 
marks,  made  a  century  later,  were  of 
this  form :(()).  They  were  put  in  the 
centre  of  the  type  body,  so  that  they  could  be  re- 
versed and  printed  in  pairs  for  the  beginning  and 
the  ending  of  a  quotation.  They  were  not  com- 
mon in  books  of  the  eighteenth  century.  When 
English  printers  did  decide  to  mark  quotations, 
they  refused  the  French  form,  and  made  a  very 
awkward  substitute  by  inverting  two  commas  for 
the  beginning  and  using  two  apostrophes  for  the 
ending  of  the  quotation.  The  quote-marks  so  sub- 
stituted "  "  are  what  Moxon  calls  av  makeshift 
device,  for  these  signs,  wrested  from  their  first  pur- 
pose, are  not  symmetrical  mates:  the  apostrophe 

209 


210      Hackneyed  phrases  not  to  be  quoted 

on  the  five-to-em  body  is  made  thinner  than  the 
comma  on  the  four-to-em  body,  and  their  knobby 
endings  are  not  in  true  line.  Unlike  other  charac- 
ters in  the  font,  they  occupy  the  upper  part  of  the 
body,  and  leave  an  unsightly  blank  below,  often 
to  the  detriment  of  even  spacing. 

When  a  mark  of  quotation  has  to  appear  before 
a  two-line  letter  at  the  beginning  of  a  chapter,  the 
turned  commas  used  for  that  purpose  should  be  of 
the  type  of  the  text,  and  be  justified  in  at  the  side 
or  over  the  head  of  the  two-line  letter.  It  is  a  seri- 
ous blemish  to  any  page  to  select  commas  to  mate 
with  the  large  initial  used  in  the  first  paragraph. 

WHEN  QUOTE-MARKS  ARE  NOT   NEEDED 

The  purpose  of  quote-marks  within  the  text  is  to 
inclose  the  exact  words  of  another  writer,  so  that 
the  reader  at  a  glance  can  differentiate  the  words 
quoted  from  those  of  the  author.  When  used  with 
discretion  quote-marks  are  helpful;  too  lavishly 
used,  they  disfigure  print  and  really  degrade  the 
style  of  the  writer.  There  are  phrases  in  the  Bible, 
in  Shakspere,  Milton,  and  other  famous  authors, 
which  by  their  terseness  have  become  what  may 
be  called  verbal  coins  in  the  English  language,  and 
their  origin  and  value  should  be  known  to  every 
reader.  To  fence  in  with  quote-marks  phrases 
like  these  —  not  of  an  age,  but  for  all  time ;  the 
knell  of  parting  day ;  the  observed  of  all  observers ; 


Methods  of  ux'my  quote-marks        211 

to  the  manner  born  —  implies  on  the  part  of  the 
author  a  low  estimate  of  the  reader's  knowledge 
of  literature.  It  is  an  intimation  that  he  has  not 
read  these  phrases  and  knows  little  or  nothing  of 
the  writings  of  good  authors.  This  remark  may  be 
applied  to  all  trite  proverbs  and  hackneyed  sayings, 
which  do  not  need  quote-marks  any  more  than  they 
need  foot-notes  citing  author,  book,  and  page. 

No  fixed  line  can  be  drawn  between  the  proper 
and  the  improper  use  of  quote-marks,  which  may 
be  proper  on  one  occasion  and  not  on  another.  The 
author,  not  the  compositor,  must  avoid  the  impu- 
tation of  filching  the  language  of  another  writer 
by  omitting  the  quote-marks,  as  well  as  that  of  a 
pedantic  precision  by  inserting  them  where  they 
are  not  needed  and  may  be  a  positive  offence.  The 
compositor  has  no  choice ;  he  must  follow  copy. 

When  a  sentence  or  a  long  extract  from  another 
writer  is  incorporated  in  the  type  of  the  text,  two 
turned  commas  are  usually  placed  at  the  begin- 
ning and  two  apostrophes  at  the  end  of  the  incor- 
porated matter.  If  the  extract  consists  of  two  or 
more  paragraphs,  the  turned  commas  should  be 
used  at  the  beginning  of  every  paragraph,  but  the 
doubled  apostrophes  appear  only  at  the  end  of  the 
quotation. 

There  have  been  authors  who  held  that  quote- 
marks  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  an  extract 
extending  over  one  or  more  pages  were  not  em- 
phatic enough  to  catch  the  eye  of  a  casual  reader. 


212         Insignificance  of  single  quotes 

To  prevent  any  misunderstanding  as  to  the  limit 
of  the  quotation,  doubled  commas  were  inserted  at 
the  beginning  of  every  line  by  many  printers  of  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.1  Nor  is  this 
fashion  entirely  obsolete ;  doubled  commas  at  the 
beginning  of  lines  are  used  occasionally  in  legal 
documents  and  in  the  columns  of  newspapers,  but 
this  style  is  out  of  fashion  in  good  book- work.  The 
long  quotation  or  extract  is  specially  indented  or  is 
shown  in  a  smaller  type,  with  equal  clearness  to 
the  reader  and  with  better  effect  in  the  print,2  but 
when  double  quotes  are  clearly  marked  in  copy,  the 
compositor  must  insert  them  without  question. 

When  an  author  objects  to  quote-marks  at  the 
beginning  of  every  line  of  a  long  extract  or  docu- 
ment, but  insists  on  its  appearance  in  the  type  of 
the  text,  the  distinction  desired  for  this  extract 
may  be  made  by  indenting  all  the  lines  one  em  on 
each  side  or  by  a  deeper  indention  on  the  left. 

SINGLE  QUOTES 

British  printers  sometimes  use  single  instead  of 
double  quotes,  but  not  with  advantage  to  the  print 
or  help  to  the  reader.  The  single  quote-mark,  a 
feeble  sign  at  its  best,  and  especially  feeble  when 
the  tails  of  the  characters  are  worn,  should  be  re- 
served for  the  quote  within  a  quote,  as  will  be 
shown  in  following  illustrations. 

l  See  letter  on  page  162.  2  See  extract  on  page  163. 


Dialogue  intelligible  ivithout  quotes      213 

When  special  attention  is  invited  to  any  word,  it 
is  customary  to  inclose  it  in  single  quote-marks,  as : 

By  '  experiment '  is  meant  the  process  of  altering 
the  arrangements  presented  by  nature. 

In  this  illustration  the  single  quote-mark  is  the  ac- 
cepted substitute  for  the  old  fashion  of  putting  the 
word  experiment  in  italic  or  beginning  it  with  a 
capital.  The  single  quote  is  of  real  service  when 
it  identifies  unmistakably  the  exact  word  used  by 
a  speaker  or  writer,  but  it  will  prove  an  irritating 
precision  when  it  is  repeated  too  often  in  subse- 
quent citations  of  that  word. 


QUOTE-MARKS  NOT  USED  IN  THE  BIBLE 

It  has  been  said  that  the  conversation  of  different 
speakers  would  be  unintelligible  or  confused  if  the 
words  of  each  speaker  were  not  inclosed  in  quote- 
marks.  A  careful  reading  of  the  following  dia- 
logue, as  presented  in  the  authorized  version  of  the 
Bible,  will  show  that  quote-marks  are  not  needed 
as  much  as  is  commonly  supposed  to  distinguish 
the  words  of  different  speakers. 

And  he  came  unto  his  father,  and  said,  My  father : 
and  he  said,  Here  am  I ;  who  art  thou,  my  son  ? 

And  Jacob  said  unto  his  father,  I  am  Esau  thy  first- 
born ;  I  have  done  according  as  thou  badest  me : 
arise,  I  pray  thee,  sit  and  eat  of  my  venison,  that 
thy  soul  may  bless  me. 

14  ' 


214  When  to  use  or  omit  quotes 

And  Isaac  said  unto  his  son,  How  is  it  that  thou 
hast  found  it  so  quickly,  my  son  ?  And  he  said, 
Because  the  LORD  thy  God  brought  it  to  me. 

And  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob,  Come  near,  I  pray 
thee,  that  I  may  feel  thee,  my  son,  whether  thou 
be  my  very  son  Esau  or  not.  Genesis,  xxvii,  18-21. 


QUOTE-MARKS  NOT  NEEDED  FOR  SMALLER  TYPE 

The  quotation  or  extract  which  is  set  in  smaller 
type  and  is  made  a  separate  paragraph  needs  no 
quote-marks.  Change  of  size  is  enough  to  show 
that  it  is  not  a  part  of  the  text.  When  the  name 
of  the  writer  of  the  extract  is  given  in  the  text,  or 
in  a  credit  or  foot-note,  quote-marks  are  a  useless 
formality.1 

General  Denvers  said : 

There  may  have  been  individual  guards  who  were 
rude,  but  rudeness  was  rare.  The  officer  could 
scarcely  ever  visit  the  prisoners. 

But  when  the  quotation  or  extract  is  made  a  part 
of  the  paragraph,  the  quote-marks  must  be  used. 

In  his  testimony  Mr.  Wyeth  said  that  "two  men, 
for  an  infringement,  were  compelled  to  '  mark  time ' 
for  more  than  an  hour." 

As  there  we  stood,  on  me  the  Mantuan  faced 

His  eyes,  and  thus  he  spake :  "  Both  fires,  my  son, 

The  temporal  and  the  eternal,  thou  hast  seen." 

Virgil's  farewell  to  Dante. 

l  See  page  163. 


When  to  use  or  omit  quotes  215 

When  a  compositor  is  uncertain  as  to  the  proper 
use  of  quotation-marks  in  copy  not  systematically 
prepared,  he  should  use  quote-marks  for  the  exact 
words  only  of  the  writer  or  speaker. 

This  was  his  written  promise  to  me :  "  I  agree  to 
pay  you  one  hundred  dollars  on  the  first  day  of 
June,  1896." 

But  there  should  be  no  quotation-marks  when  the 
statement  is  worded  after  this  manner: 

He  advised  me  by  letter  that  he  would,  on  the  first 
day  of  June,  1896,  pay  me  one  hundred  dollars. 

Quotation-marks  are  frequently  used  in  editorial 
comment  to  stigmatize  objectionable  quoted  words. 

His  fondness  for  the  big  or  unusual  words  and 
phrases  "empyrean,"  "nadir,"  "  capriccio,"  "cui 
bono,"  "  coup  d'etat,"  shows  that  he  has  been  to  a 
feast  of  languages  and  stolen  the  scraps. 

When  a  compositor  finds  these  marks  in  his  copy 
he  must  follow  copy,  even  if  he  doubts,  as  does 
the  writer,  whether  the  quote-marks  add  anything 
to  the  force  of  the  comment. 

When  a  word  or  phrase  has  been  made  the  sub- 
ject of  special  and  caustic  criticism,  this  word  or 
phrase  is  usually  inclosed  in  quotes  when  it  first 
appears  in  the  comment;  but  if  the  quoted  word 
or  phrase  has  to  be  frequently  reprinted,  the  quota- 
tion-marks may  be  suppressed  in  the  repetitions. 


216          Proper  spacing  of  quotations 

PUNCTUATION  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  QUOTE-MARKS 

Quotations  of  isolated  words  or  phrases,  as  in  the 
last  example,  do  not  need  a  dash,  comma,  or  colon 
after  the  introductory  clause.  Nor  is  a  point  always 
needed  when  the  quoted  words  are  long  enough  to 
make  an  independent  sentence,  as  in : 

Cobbett's  remark,  that  "the  apostrophe  ought  to  be 
called  the  mark,  not  of  elision,  but  of  laziness  and 
vulgarity,"  is  as  true  now  as  it  was  then. 

In  this  example  the  flow  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion is  continuous ;  there  is  no  break  in  language, 
and  a  point  is  not  needed  after  the  word  that. 

When  the  quotation  is  long,  or  when  it  is  intro- 
duced in  a  formal  manner,  it  is  usually  preceded 
by  a  colon,  as : 

In  describing  the  influence  of  a  great  orator  over 
an  audience,  Sheridan  says :  "  Notwithstanding  the 
diversity  of  minds  in  such  a  multitude,  by  the 
lightning  of  eloquence  they  are  melted  into  one 
mass ;  the  whole  assembly,  actuated  in  one  and 
the  same  way,  become,  as  it  were,  but  one  man, 
and  have  but  one  voice.  The  universal  cry  is, 
Let  us  march  against  Philip !  let  us  fight  for  our 
liberties !  let  us  conquer  or  die ! " 

Quotation-marks  should  be  separated  by  a  thin 
space  from  adjacent  or  abutting  letters  when  they 
press  them  too  closely.  When  a  closing  quote  is 
at  the  end  of  a  clause  or  sentence  that  also  ends 


Quoted  matter  only  to  be  inclosed      217 

with  a  period  or  comma,  the  thin  space  may  be 
omitted,  for  the  blank  over  the  period  or  comma 
is  enough  to  show  the  separation.  When  a  dash 
is  used  to  mark  broken  or  interrupted  speech,  the 
quote  may  come  close  after  the  dash. 

When  words  are  purposely  omitted  in  a  quota- 
tion, this  omission  should  be  marked  by  the  use 
of  three  periods  about  two  spaces  apart. 

There  is  an  old  but  unwritten  rule,  fairly  ob- 
served by  many  compositors,  that  the  closing  marks 
of  quotation  always  should  be  put  after  the  comma 
or  the  period  in  all  places  where  these  points  are 
needed.  This  practice,  proper  enough  in  many  in- 
stances, seems  to  have  warranted  the  frequent  but 
erroneous  insertion  of  these  marks  after  every  point 
of  punctuation  and  even  after  a  final  parenthesis. 
The  proper  place  of  the  closing  marks  of  quotation 
should  be  determined  by  the  quoted  words  only; 
they  must  inclose  these  words,  and  no  more ;  they 
may  be  before  or  after  the  points,  according  to  the 
construction  of  the  sentence.  When  the  quotation 
makes  a  complete  sentence,  put  the  quotation-marks 
after  the  period  at  the  end  of  that  sentence ;  when 
the  quotation  is  at  the  end  of  but  a  portion  of  this 
sentence  which  terminates  with  a  colon,  semicolon, 
or  any  other  point,  then  put  the  marks  before  the 
point.  The  mark  of  punctuation  intended  to  define 
the  construction  of  the  completed  sentence  should 
not  be  made  a  portion  of  the  fragmentary  quoted 
matter. 


218  Quotes  within  quotes 

It  was  presented  as  a  "substitute"  for  a  previous 
motion  to  substitute  the  minority  for  the  majority 
report  (i.  e.  to  strike  out  the  majority  proposal  for 
"  a  brief  summary  of  the  reformed  faith  "). 

It  was  the  baker's  chance,  and  he  took  it.  ..."  I 
played  '  The  Heart  Bowed  Down '  under  his  win- 
dow, and  he  sent  word  for  me  to  come  and  play  it 
again  in  the  kitchen.  Ah,  that  is  a  good  song, 
'  The  Heart  Bowed  Down ' ! " 


QUOTES   WITHIN   QUOTES 

It  often  happens  that  a  quoted  word  or  phrase  in 
the  body  of  a  much  longer  quotation  must  be  dis- 
tinguished by  another  series  of  quote-marks,  as  is 
shown  in  the  example: 

"  If  the  physician  sees  you  eat  anything  that  is  not 
good  for  -you,  he  says, '  It  is  poison ! '  If  the  divine 
sees  you  do  anything  that  is  hurtful  to  your  soul, 
he  says,  '  It  is  damnable ! ' " 

The  interior  quotation  is  usually  made  with  one 
inverted  comma  and  one  closing  apostrophe,  and 
is  known  as  a  single  quote.  Some  printers  reverse 
the  order,  using  the  single  quote  for  the  long  and 
the  double  quote  for  the  short  quotation.  Drew 
does  not  object  to  this  practice,1  but  it  is  not  com- 
mon in  America. 

A  third  series  of  quote-marks  may  be  ordered 
by  the  author  to  appear  within  the  second  series 

1  Pens  and  Types,  p.  119. 


Abuse  of  quotation-marks  219 

as  an  interior  quotation.  As  this  second  quotation 
is  usually  denned  by  single  quotes,  the  third  quo- 
tation really  requires  a  new  set  of  signs.  Bigelow 
advises  that  this  third  quotation  be  inclosed  with 
double  quotes,  as  is  customary  with  the  first  quota- 
tion, but  recommends  that  the  marking  of  this  third 
quotation  be  "  avoided  if  possible,  especially  when 
the  three  series  of  quote-marks  come  together  at 
the  close."  J  If  the  author  insists,  the  inclosure  of 
a  third  quotation  cannot  be  avoided,  but  two  in- 
verted periods  might  be  enough  to  give  the  slight 
distinction  demanded.  Five  series  of  quote-marks 
in  a  row  at  the  end  of  a  sentence,  with  unavoidable 
bad  spacing,  are  highly  objectionable.2  They  do 
not  clarify  but  really  muddle  the  meaning,  as  the 
following  example  will  clearly  show.  In  the  Gospel 
according  to  John  (x,  34)  is  this  verse : 

Jesus  answered  them,  Is  it  not  written  in  your  law, 
I  said,  Ye  are  gods  ? 

Without  any  quotation-mark  this  verse  is  entirely 
intelligible.  Assuming  that  it  is  part  of  a  longer 

1  Punctuation,  p.  42.  As  might  be  supposed,  the  plac- 

2  I  have  seen  a  manuscript  in  ing  of  quote-marks  was  not  con- 
which  the  author  had  tried  to  sistent  in  the  manuscript.  When 
use  five  distinct  series  of  quote-  the  author  saw  in  the  proof  of 
marks.   After  a  descriptive  text,  the  first  chapter  the  bad  effect 
•which  was  but  a  preface,  came :  of  these  fivefold  markings,  he 

1  The  confession  or  narration,  had  to  confess  that  the  reader 

2  Letters  explanatory.  would  understand  the  subject 

3  Letters  within  letters.  more  clearly  if  the  use  of  quote- 

4  Dialogue  matter.  marks  were  confined  to  two  se- 

5  Quotations  within  dialogue,  ries  only. 


220         Too  many  quote-marks  confuse 

sentence  from  a  modern  author,  and  applying  to  it 
old  rules  of  punctuation,  it  should  be  so  rendered : 

"  In  the  New  Testament  we  have  the  following  words : 
'  Jesus  answered  them,  "  Is  it  not  written  in  your 
law,  ' I  said,  "  Ye  are  gods '"<?»'" 

Here  are  five  quotations.  These  absurd  repetitions 
of  turned  commas  and  apostrophes  are  the  logical 
application  of  an  old  rule  carried  much  beyond  its 
legitimate  purpose.1 

It  is  but  a  step  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridicu- 
lous, and  from  clearness  to  confusion. 

NEEDLESS  USE  OF  QUOTE-MARKS 

A  notable  example  of  the  needless  use  of  single 
quote-marks  may  be  seen  in  the  English  Past  and 
Present  of  Richard  Chenevix  Trench.2 

There  are  in  every  language  a  vast  number  of 
words  which  are  indistinguishable  to  the  ear,  but 
are  at  once  distinguishable  to  the  eye  by  the  spell- 
ing. I  will  only  mention  such  as  are  the  same 
parts  of  speech  ;  thus  '  sun '  and  '  son ; '  '  reign,' 
'  rain,'  and  '  rein ; '  '  hair '  and  '  hare  ; '  *  plate '  and 
'  plait ; '  '  moat '  and  '  mote ; '  '  pair '  and  '  pear ; ' 
'air'  and  'heir;'  'ark'  and  'arc;'  'mite'  and 
'  might ; '  '  pour '  and  l  pore ; '  '  veil '  and  '  vale ; ' 
'  knight '  and  '  night ; '  '  knave  '  and  '  nave ; '  '  pier ' 

1  Wilson,  Punctuation,  p.  160.  noted  that  these  closing  quotes 

2  Edition  of  Redfleld,  p.  179-  are  wrongly  placed   after  the 
Pages  106-111  of  this  book  swarm  semicolons.     They  should  be  be- 
with  single  quotes.    It  should  be  fore  them. 


Quote-marks  divert  the  eye  221 

and  '  peer ; '  '  rite '  and  '  right ; '  '  site  ?  and  '  sight ; ' 
'  aisle '  and  '  isle  ; '  '  concent '  and  '  consent ; '  '  sig- 
net '  and  '  cygnet.' 

If  every  quote-mark  had  been  omitted  the  illus- 
trations would  be  clearer.  The  eye  is  unavoidably 
diverted  from  the  words  to  the  points;  the  mind 
is  confused  by  the  repetition  of  undesired  signs. 
To  read  line  after  line  bristling  with  these  points 
is  as  irritating  as  a  walk  through  brier-bushes. 

The  following  extract  is  another  exhibit  of  a 
needless  use  of  the  marks  of  quotation.  If  every 
one  had  been  suppressed  the  matter  would  be  more 
easily  comprehended.  The  use  of  a  capital  letter 
for  the  first  word  in  each  title  is  enough  to  show 
its  separation  from  titles  preceding  and  following. 

Here  is  a  partial  list  of  works,  very  infrequently 
heard  nowadays,  of  which  I  have  preserved  a 
record  :  "  Rienzi,"  "  Nero,"  "  The  Barber  of  Bag- 
dad," "  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  "  Hernando 
Cortez,"  "  Merlin,"  "  Mireille,"  "  MasanieUo,"  "  Le 
Pre  aux  Clercs,"  "  Dinorah,"  "  L'tftoile  du  Nord," 
"  Robert  le  Diable,"  "  Si  j'etais  Roi,"  "  Le  Postil- 
ion de  Lonjumeau,"  "  Le  Voyage  en  Chine,"  "  Les 
Dragons  de  Villars,"  "  Paul  et  Virginie,"  "  Die 
Weisse  Dame  "  ("  La  Dame  Blanche"),  "  Les  Contes 
d'Hoffmann"  (Offenbach's  only  serious  opera), 
"  Don  Pasquale,"  "  Lucrezia  Borgia,"  "  L'Elisir 
d'Amore,"  "  Crispino  e  la  Comare,"  "  I  Puritani," 
"  La  Gazza  Ladra,"  "  Un  Balloin  Maschera,"  "  La 
Forza  del  Destino,"  "  I  Lombardi,"  "  Luisa  Miller," 
"  lone,"  and  "  II  Guarany." 


222       French  method  for  quoted  ivords 

QUOTE-MARKS   FOR  FOREIGN   WORDS 

Occasional  words  and  phrases  in  foreign  languages 
are  often  set  in  italic ;  but  when  these  words  make 
one  or  more  sentences  of  the  paragraph  they  are 
more  frequently  put  in  roman  with  quote-marks. 

Quotation-marks  are  rarely  needed  to  inclose  a 
foreign  word,  phrase,  or  sentence  in  italic.  Occa- 
sions may  arise,  but  these  occasions  are  exception- 
ally rare.  Use  one  or  the  other,  but  do  not  use  the 
two  together  unless  the  two  are  positively  ordered 
by  the  author.  The  compositor  must  follow  copy, 
but  the  author  should  be  reminded  by  the  proof- 
reader that  this  double  emphasizing  savors  too 
much  of  the  methods  of  an  advertisement  writer. 

FRENCH  METHOD  OF  USING   QUOTE-MARKS 

The  French  method  of  using  quote-marks  is  much 
simpler  than  ours,  as  will  be  seen  in  this  extract 
from  Le  Nabab,1  by  Alphonse  Daudet. 

«  Vous  avez  lu  ? 

—  C'est  epouvantable. 

—  Croyez-vous  la  chose  possible  ? 

—  Je  n'en  sais  rien.    En  tout  cas,  j'ai  prefere 
ne  pas  amener  ma  femme. 

—  J'ai   fait  comme  vous  .  .  .  Un  homme  peut 
aller  partout  sans  se  compromettre  .  .  . 

—  Certainement  .  .  .  Tandis  qu'une  femme  ...» 

1  Edition  of  Charpentier,  Paris,  1877, 12mo.  p.  288. 


French  method  makes  quotations  plainer  223 

There  are  two  speakers  in  this  dialogue,  but  the 
words  of  each  speaker  are  sufficiently  distinguished 
by  the  new  paragraph  and  its  forewarning  dash. 
Quote-marks  are  used  at  the  beginning  and  at  the 
ending  only  of  the  entire  dialogue,  and  are  they  not 
enough  ?  They  are  sparingly  employed  in  the  para- 
graphs of  French  dialogue  matter  even  when  the 
speech  is  broken  and  explanatory  words  are  added 
to  the  sentences  of  dialogue  matter. 

«  Faites,   faites   ....   Au  point  ou  nous  en 
sommes,  je  puis  travailler  sans  vous. 

-  Oh !  oui,   dit   le   docteur,   1'oeuvre   est  a  peu 
pr&s  terminee.  » 1 

According  to  American  and  English  usage,  closing 
quotes  should  be  inserted  after  oui,  and  beginning 
quotes  before  V&uvre.  Are  they  really  demanded  ? 
Can  there  be  a  reader  so  obtuse  as  to  need  more 
quote-marks  to  show  that  the  words  dit  le  docteur 
were  not  spoken  by  the  doctor? 

The  French  quote-marks  for  the  beginning  as 
well  as  for  the  ending  of  the  quotation  are  more 
distinguishable  than  ours  as  to  form,  and  are  dis- 
tinctly set  off  from  the  inclosed  words  by  a  thick 
space.  So  treated,  the  quote-marks  are  quickly 
recognized.  Our  method  huddles  the  marks  too 
close  to  the  quoted  matter,  as  if  they  were  signs  to 
be  ashamed  of  and  to  be  reduced  to  insignificance. 

l  Ibid.,  p.  125. 


224  Quotations  in  poetry 

QUOTE-MARKS  IN  POETRY 

Quote-marks  disturb  the  regularity  of  indention  in 
poetry.  Two  turned  commas  and  the  following 
space  are  nearly  as  wide  as  the  em  quadrat  of  in- 
dention. Feeble  as  marks,  when  reckoned  as  part 
of  the  blank  they  defeat  the  purpose  of  indention. 

"  And  everybody  praised  the  duke 

Who  this  great  fight  did  win." 
"  But  what  good  came  of  it  at  last  ?  " 

Quoth  little  Peterkin. 
"  Why,  that  I  cannot  tell,"  said  he  ; 
"  But 't  was  a  famous  victory." 

The  second  and  fourth  lines,  made  to  rime,  are  in- 
dented in  other  stanzas  of  this  poem,  and  so  they 
are  here,  yet  they  do  not  seem  to  be  indented  at  all. 
When  quote-marks  begin  one  of  two  adjacent 
lines  not  made  to  rime,  the  regular  (so-called)  in- 
dention makes  decided  irregularities. 

He  holds  him  with  his  skinny  hand. 

"  There  was  a  ship,"  quoth  he. 
"  Hold  off,  unhand  me,  grey-beard  loon  !  " 

Eftsoons  his  hand  dropt  he. 

Indention  could  be  made  apparently  uniform  by 
indenting  unevenly  to  keep  the  capitals  in  vertical 
line,  but  this  method  is  often  forbidden.  A  sym- 
metrical arrangement  of  composition  is  not  possi- 
ble when  quote-marks  are  rated  as  integral  parts 
(which  they  are  not)  of  the  sentence. 


Different  methods  of  giving  titles       225 

QUOTE-MARKS  FOR  TITLES  OF  BOOKS 

The  titles  of  books  and  periodicals  and  of  plays  and 
operas  are  sometimes  set  in  italic  and  sometimes 
inclosed  in  quote-marks.1  Italic  is  preferred  by 
bookish  men,  but  quote-marks  (easily  set  by  the 
compositor)  are  more  common. 

Every  attempt  to  enforce  the  rule  of  italic  only 
or  of  quotes  only  for  the  names  of  books  will  have 
to  encounter  many  exceptions.  No  writer  thinks 
it  wise  to  italicize  or  put  in  quote-marks  the  Bible, 
the  Odyssey  or  the  Iliad,  the  Inferno  or  Paradise 
Lost,  for  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  these  books  are 
well  known  by  name.  If  we  do  not  fence  in  these 
titles  with  quote-marks,  should  we  use  them  for 
Hiawatha  or  Marinion,  for  the  New  York  Herald 
or  for  the  Edinburgh  Review  ?  The  compositor  or 
the  proof-reader  who  tries  to  maintain  uniformity 
in  specifying  titles  does  not  find  it  easy  to  direct 
where  the  quotes  should  or  should  not  be  used. 

Bibliographers  have  not  changed  the  practice 
of  specifying  with  italic  the  titles  of  books  men- 

1  "  In  examining  The  Atlantic,  tion-marks  and  four  use  italics 
Nation,  Scribner's  Monthly,  Ear-  in  referring  to  the  titles  of 
per' 's,  Magazine  of  American  His-  books;  eleven  use  italics  and 
tory,  I/ippincott's,  Popular  Sci-  six  use  quotation-marks  in  refer- 
ence Monthly,  International  Be-  ring  to  magazines  and  papers." 
view,  New  Englander,  London  W.  J.  Cocker,  Punctuation,  p.  45. 
Quarterly,  British  Quarterly,  (In  this  list  but  fifteen  periodi- 
Westminster  Review,  Edinburgh  cals  are  specified. )  A  similar  ir- 
Review,  Contemporary  Review,  regularity  of  practice  may  be 
The  Fortnightly  Review,  we  find  noted  in  periodicals  of  more  re- 
that  thirteen  of  these  use  quota-  cent  date. 


226  Exactness  in  citing  titles 

tioned  in  the  text,  and  their  practice  is  preferable 
in  all  books  about  books.1  Italic  makes  the  title 
plainer  to  the  reader,  but  the  quote-marks  are 
more  convenient  to  the  printer. 

When  it  is  supposed  that  the  exact  words  of  the 
title  of  a  book  may  not  be  well  known  to  the  general 
reader,  its  title,  when  mentioned  in  a  text,  may  be 
quoted,  but  care  should  be  taken  to  give  with  pre- 
cision the  exact  words.  To  cite  any  printed  title 
from  memory  is  always  unsafe ;  there  is  a  proba- 
bility that  the  writer  will  add  or  omit  some  words. 
Gibbon's  "  History  of  the  Roman  Empire  "  is  here 
wrongly  quoted ;  it  should  read,  "  The  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire."  A  long  title  like 
this  need  not  be  put  at  length  in  the  text;  it  is 
better  practice  to  give  the  full  title  in  a  foot-note, 
in  which  position  it  does  not  need  italic  or  quota- 
tion-marks. A  reference  to  Fronde's  History  or 
Parkman's  History  is  a  very  inexact  citation,  for 
Froude  and  Parkman  have  written  many  histories. 

An  early  copy  of  George  Kennan's  "  Siberia  and 
the  Exile  System  "was  sent  to  Emperor  William  of 
Germany,  at  his  own  request. 

Sir  Noel  Paton  perhaps  profited  more  by  his  "  Pur- 
suit of  Pleasure,"  which  sold  for  £2000,  than  by  all 
his  early  religious  paintings. 

l  Italic,  however,  is  not  often  vious  pages  of  this  work,  in  any 

used  for  the  titles  of  books  in  extract  intended  to  present  the 

foot-notes,  but  it  should  be  used,  exact  words  and  the  style  of  the 

as  is  done  in  some  notes  on  pre-  quoted  writer. 


Quotation-marks  for  characters        227 

CHARACTERS  IN  PLAYS  AND  NOVELS 

In  comments  on  plays,  the  names  of  the  characters 
are  usually  put  in  italic,  and  the  name  of  the  play 
in  roman  inclosed  in  marks  of  quotation.  The  in- 
tent is  to  prevent  possible  confusion  in  the  mind  of 
a  reader  between  the  real  men  of  history  and  the 
heroes  of  fiction.  Julius  Caesar  as  a  character  of 
Shakspere  should  be  in  italic ;  "  Julius  Caesar  "  as  a 
play  must  have  marks  of  quotation ;  Julius  Caesar 
as  author  or  statesman  must  be  in  plain  roman, 
and  take  no  special  badge  for  identification.  These 
are  nice  distinctions,  easily  made  and  useful  for 
ordinary  cases,  but  not  so  easily  observed  when  the 
proof-reader  is  expected  to  particularize  with  typo- 
graphic badges  the  persons  of  classical  history  or 
mythology.  Some  editors  refuse  these  distinctions, 
putting  only  the  names  of  characters  in  quotation- 
marks,  as  in  the  following  example. 

In  "  Othello  "  Sal  vim  found  a  part  wherein  all  the 
passion  of  his  southern  blood  had  free  course  and 
was  glorified.  Though  he  played  '•  lago "  more 
than  once,  the  cold  villainy  of  that  character  was 
less  acceptable  to  his  impulsive  art  than  the  love 
and  jealous  anger  of  the  Moor. 

There  are  other  editors  who  will  not  accept  the 
quotation-marks  for  the  characters  in  novels,  nor 
are  they  really  needed  in  the  specifications  of 
names  in  the  following  paragraphs. 


228      Quote-marks  for  names  of  vessels 

Dickens  derived  his  mirth  from  the  old  giants  of 
English  fun.  Mr.  Squeers  and  Sam  Weller,  Mrs. 
Gamp  and  all  the  Pickwickian s,  Dowler  and  John 
Browdie,  will  live  while  there  is  a  laugh  among  us. 

Take  the  indignation  of  Alceste,  the  self-decep- 
tion of  Tartufe,  the  blasphemy  of  Don  Juan  —  who 
beside  Moliere  ever  combined  such  humor,  such 
wit,  such  irrepressible  mirth  ? 

NAMES   OF  VESSELS 

Quote-marks  are  used  by  some  writers  to  inclose 
the  names  of  vessels,  but  others  put  the  words  in 
italic.  There  may  be  occasions  for  which  it  is  expe- 
dient to  distinguish  the  names  of  vessels  from  the 
places  that  gave  them  name,  to  prevent  confusion 
in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  but  these  occasions  are 
rare.  This  extract  from  Bigelow l  should  be  enough 
to  show  that  quote-marks  for  this  purpose  are  not 
needed  in-  ordinary  descriptions. 

A  collision  took  place  on  the  Sound  on  Friday 
night  between  the  steamers  Stonington  and  Narra- 
gansett.  The  Narragansett  soon  began  to  sink,  and 
immediately  took  fire.  The  steamer  City  of  New 
York  sent  boats  to  their  assistance,  and  took  a 
large  number  of  passengers  off  the  vessel.  During 
Saturday  the  steamer  Relief,  of  the  Coast  Wreck- 
ing Company,  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  disaster. 
The  schooner  Report  still  lies  alongside.  A  metallic 
life-boat  was  picked  up  about  five  miles  from  the 
wreck,  containing  a  number  of  life-preservers 
marked  "  Narragansett." 

l  Punctuation,  and  Other  Typographical  Matters,  p.  41. 


Modern  practice  avoids  display        229 

Why  the  last  word  was  inclosed  in  quotes  is  not  to 
be  explained. 

The  desire  to  make  written  language  clear  to  the 
reader  is  to  be  respected,  but  some  of  the  methods 
now  in  general  use  are  unsatisfactory  and  will  not 
stand  critical  examination.  A  hundred  years  ago 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  printer  to  begin  every  noun 
with  a  capital  letter  and  to  compose  in  italic  every 
word  that  needed  or  seemed  to  need  emphasis.  It 
was  hoped  that  capitals  and  italic  would  help  the 
reader  to  a  better  comprehension  of  the  subject, 
but  they  were  used  too  profusely  and  really  made 
trouble  for  the  reader. 

Experience  has  proved  that  readers  do  not  need 
these  crutches,  and  that  ordinary  matter  can  be 
made  readable  and  intelligible  without  them. 

It  is  probable  that  the  next  generation  will  put 
greater  restrictions  on  the  use  of  quotation-marks. 
They  will  never  go  entirely  out  of  use,  for  they  are 
of  real  importance  in  many  forms  of  literary  work, 
but  they  will  be  used  with  more  discretion  and  only 
in  the  places  where  they  are  really  needed. 


15 


XIV 


SUBHEADINGS 

CAPITAL  LETTERS  of  the  text  type  are 
used  with  propriety  in  leaded  matter 
for  subheadings  <jf  one  word  or  of  two 
or  three  words  that  make  less  than  one 
line,  but  they  will  seem  bold,  coarse, 
and  sprawling  in  every  subheading  of  words  that 
must  occupy  two  or  more  lines.  As  subheadings 
of  the  same  class  should  be  uniform,  a  size  of  capi- 
tal should  be  selected  that  will  enable  the  greater 
number  of  words  to  come  in  one  line. 

When  subheadings  are  frequent  and  make  more 
than  one  line,  the'  small  capitals  of  the  text  type  are 
preferred  for  solid  and  often  for  leaded  matter.  If 
the  text  type  is  of  small  body,  the  small  capitals  of 
that  text  may  be  found  too  compact  and  relatively 
insignificant.  To  give  the  desired  distinction,  pub- 
lishers of  school-books  sometimes  select  light-faced 

230 


Faces  preferred  for  subheadings      231 

antiques  or  gothics  of  small  sizes  for  subheadings. 
Judiciously  selected,  the  change  in  face  may  be  ac- 
ceptable, but  the  temptation  to  make  subheadings 
prominent  by  the  use  of  large  and  thick-faced  types 
should  be  resisted.  There  are  -but  few  occasions  in 
which  job  type  of  large  size  is  tolerable  in  a  good 
book,  which  is  materially  degraded  when  it  imitates 
the  typographic  mannerisms  of  a  trade  pamphlet 
or  a  newspaper  advertisement. 

Italic  lower-case  of  the  text  is  preferable  as  a 
substitute  for  job  type.  It  has  the  merit  of  com- 
pactness with  clearness,  for  it  will  take  in  more 
letters  to  the  line  than  is  practicable  with  ordinary 
capitals.  It  is  always  preferred  for  the  long  head- 
ings of  tables  and  tabular  matter.  When  greater 
prominence  is  desired  for  any  special  subheading, 
an  italic  of  larger  size  than  that  of  the  text  may  be 
selected  with  propriety.1 

Roman  lower-case  three  sizes  smaller  than  the 
type  of  the  text  is  often  used  for  subheadings  by 
the  book-printers  of  France.  The  display  of  large 
type  is  purposely  avoided  as  savoring  too  plainly 
of  advertising  methods.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
attentive  reader  will  not  need  large  or  bold  type 
for  a  subheading  any  more  than  he  needs  it  in  a 
side-note.  The  following  subheading  in  brevier 

i  These  remarks  can  apply  to  rarely  fitted  with  accuracy  and 
lower-case  only.  Subheadings  symmetry  upon  the  square  body. 
set  in  italic  capitals  are  seldom  Awkward  junctions  in  the  corn- 
pleasing,  for  the  inclined  and  binations  of  letters  are  common 
kerned  characters  of  italic  are  in  many  faces  of  italic. 


232     Subheadings  need  surrounding  blanks 

(over  a  text  in  small-pica)  is  from  a  book  printed 
at  the  Imperial  Printing  House  at  Paris : l 

§  8  Par  qui  et  en  quelle  ville  furent  imprim6es  les 
Editions  anonymes  du  Speculum. 


SPACE  NEEDED  FOR  SUBHEADINGS 

White  space  is  needed  more  than  staring  type  to 
give  distinction  to  subheadings.  The  subheading 
in  small  capitals  of  text  type  which  has  a  broad 
blank  above  it  and  a  narrower  one  below  it  al- 
ways has  more  prominence  and  a  neater  appear- 
ance than  the  subheading  in  bold  type  forced  in 
a  too  narrow  blank  space.  The  relief  of  white  is 
required  as  well  at  the  sides.  The  heading  should 
be  arranged  to  avoid  a  crowded  appearance  when 
it  occupies  two  or  more  lines.  A  first  line  of  full 

HEADINGS    ARE    UNPLBASING    WHEN    TOO    FAR    ABOVE    THE 
TEXT 

width  and  a  too  short  second  line  violate  this  rule. 
Such  a  subheading  may  huddle  to  comparative  in- 
distinctness the  words  in  the  first  line,  and  produce 
ungainly  white  gaps  at  each  end  of  the  second  line, 
while  needlessly  separating  the  text  from  the  sub- 
heading. When  a  subheading  makes  more  than 
one  line,  it  is  not  needful  that  its  first  line  should 
fill  the  measure.  If  its  second  line  is  made  short  by 

i  Bernard,  De  Porigine  et  des  debuts  de  Pimprimerie,  tome  i,  p.  55. 


233 

the  turnover  of  one  word  or  syllable,  the  first  line 
should  be  shortened  to  turn  over  more  words,  so 

HEADINGS    ARE    MORE    PLEASING    WHEN    PUT 
NEARER    TO    THE    TEXT    BELOW 

as  more  evenly  to  distribute  the  blank  space.  For 
the  reader's  convenience  (the  object  most  deserving 
of  consideration),  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether 
the  first  line  is  short  and  the  second  line  long,  or 
vice  versa ;  but  it  is  of  consequence  that  the  words 
most  clearly  related  in  sense  should  be  kept  to- 
gether and  that  the  blank  space  about  the  heading 
should  be  evenly  distributed.  A  first  line  should 
never  be  full  over  a  second  line  of  one  syllable. 

AN    ILLUSTRATION    OP    A    SUBHEADING    DIVIDED    AWKWARD- 
LY 

If  two  lines  of  a  verbose  subheading  or  legend 
are  of  the  same  length,  do  not  attempt,  by  a  hair- 
spacing  of  letters  or  a  wide  spacing  of  the  words,  to 
change  their  position  or  their  length.  It  is  admitted 
that  they  produce  an  unpleasing  effect  when  of  the 
same  length,  but  not  so  unpleasing  as  they  would 
if  the  first  line  should  be  full  and  the  second  line 
short,  with  a  needless  gap  of  white  space  below. 

LIEUTENANT  JAMES  CALHOTJN,  COMMANDER  OF  TROOP  L, 

ONE   OF    THE    OFFICERS    WHO   DIED   WITH   GENERAL    OUSTER 

The  white  space  about  an  illustration  in  the  text 
and  about  headings  and  subheadings  should  be 


234        Division  of  words  to  be  avoided 

graduated  to  some  extent  by  the  margins  and  by 
the  closeness  or  openness  of  the  text  matter.  It 
should  be  more  in  leaded  and  less  in  solid  compo- 
sition. It  is  an  offensive  impropriety  to  try  to  save 
space  by  the  use  of  solid  type  and  narrow  margins, 
and  then  to  waste  that  space  in  useless  blanks.  A 

FOOT-BALL,  GOLF,  HOCKEY,  AND  OTHER  OUTDOOR 
AMUSEMENTS 

large  margin  calls  for  wide  leads  and  more  whites ; 
a  smaller  margin  for  thinner  leads  and  narrower 
white  lines. 

When  the  subheading,  or  the  legend  line  under 
a  woodcut,  makes  more  than  one  line,  put  together 

FOOT-BALL,  GOLF,  HOCKEY, 
AND  OTHER  OUTDOOR  AMUSEMENTS 

in  each  line,  where  it  can  be  done  with  propriety, 
the  words  most  clearly  related  in  sense. 

Never  divide  a  word  at  the  end  of  a  subhead  line, 
if  the  division  can  be  avoided  by  shortening  the 
line  and  carrying  over  the  word  to  the  next  line. 

When  small  capitals  are  used  for  running  titles 
or  for  subheadings,  the  wide  shoulder  on  the  small 
capitals  should  be  reckoned  as  a  part  of  the  blank. 
If  it  is  not  so  reckoned,  the  blank  that  follows  may 
seem  too  wide.  On  six-point  type  the  shoulder  may 
be  too  small  to  be  noticed,  but  on  twelve-  or  four- 
teen-point  the  shoulder  must  be  reckoned  as  a  lead. 


Types  selected  for  legend  lines        235 

ILLUSTRATIONS    AND    THEIR    LEGENDS 

The  full-page  illustration  usually  has  its  legend 
line  in  larger  capitals  than  those  selected  for  illus- 
trations in  the  text.  Some  publishers  prefer  mono- 
tone or  light-faced  antique  or  gothic,  but  the  plain 
roman  capital  is  in  the  greatest  favor.  When  the 
legend  line  is  very  long,  small  capitals  are  often 
used,  but  sometimes  they  are  so  small  that  they 
cannot  be  clearly  printed  and  easily  read.  Hair- 
line gothic  in  capital  or  lower-case  series  is  fre- 
quently selected  for  its  freedom  from  serifs  and  its 
supposedly  greater  perspicuity ;  but  it  is  not  any 
clearer,  for  the  absence  of  serifs  makes  the  letters 
more  compact  and  quite  as  hard  to  read. 

FRAYSER'S  FARM-HOUSE,  FROM  THE  QUAKER  OR 
CHURCH  ROAD,  LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SOUTH. 
FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  BY  E.  S.  ANDERSON,  1885. 

FRAYSER'S  FARM-HOUSE. 

FROM   THE   QUAKER  OR  CHURCH   ROAD,  LOOKING  TOWARD   THE 
SOUTH.      FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH   BY   E.  S.  ANDERSON,  1885. 

Small  capitals  are  preferred  for  the  legend  lines 
of  illustrations,  large  or  small,  because  they  are  not 
so  liable  to  alteration  as  lower-case,  in  which  the 
capitalization  of  the  first  letters  of  words  may  be 
changed  capriciously  by  author  or  editor.  Lower- 
case of  plain  roman  two  or  three  sizes  smaller  than 
that  of  the  text  type  is  now  selected  for  the  legend 
line  by  many  prominent  printers  here  and  abroad. 


236    White  space  needed  for  illustrations 

These  legend  lines  are  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  running  title,  by  using  capital  letters  only 
for  the  first  letter  of  the  line  and  for  proper  names 
that  really  require  the  capital.  It  is  obviously  in- 
tended in  this  style  to  avoid  the  display  of  picked 
words,  as  is  common  in  posters,  and  to  trust  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  reader  for  their  entire  compre- 
hension. Italic  lower-case  is  sometimes  used  for 
the  legend  lines,  and  those  lines,  instead  of  being 
put  in  the  centre,  as  has  been  customary,  are  often 
put  capriciously  on  one  side. 

General  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  C.  S.  Army.     From 
a  photograph  by  Van  Orsclell. 

General  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  C.  S.  Army. 
From  a  photograph  by  Van  Orsdell. 

The  amount  of  white  space  to  be  put  around  an 
illustration  in  the  text  should  be  determined  to 
some  extent  by  the  openness  or  closeness  of  the 
composition :  much  in  leaded  and  but  little  in  solid 
matter.1  The  disciples  of  the  Kelmscott  school  of 
typography  prefer  to  have  the  type  very  close  to 
all  cuts,  initials,  and  borders,  but  this  is  not  the 
prevailing  practice.  It  is  the  general  belief  that  an 
illustration,  especially  in  leaded  matter,  is  seriously 
belittled  when  it  is  pressed  too  closely  by  type. 

i  A  similar  treatment  should  presses  too  closely  on  the  type, 

be  given  to  borders  about  pages,  the  composition  has  a  mean  and 

or  to  type  set  in  panels  of  brass  pinched  appearance,  which  im- 

rule.    When  that  border  or  rule  plies  a  want  of  forethought. 


Treatment  of  explanatory  descriptions   237 

Legend  lines  are  often  followed  by  explanations, 
which  are  usually  set  in  very  small  type.  It  is  a 
common  practice  to  inclose  these  explanations  in 
brackets,  but  the  brackets  should  be  selected  only 
when  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  the  matter  so 
inclosed  as  an  interpolation  in  the  text. 

[This  house  was  used  as  General  Sumner's  headquarters  and  as  a 
hospital  during  the  battle.  The  fighting  took  place  from  half  to  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  right  or  westward.  EDITOR.] 

Without  a  special  order  to  the  contrary,  do  not  use 
the  brackets  to  inclose  the  extended  description 
of  an  illustration,  or  the  office  or  the  name  of  the 
writer.  The  change  in  the  size  of  type,  with  the 
specification  of  the  name  or  office  of  the  writer  at 
the  ending  of  the  paragraph,  should  be  enough  to 
show  that  the  words  of  the  note  are  not  those  of 
the  writer  of  the  text  matter. 

Remains  of  Iguanodon. 

1.  Right  side  of  lower  jaw.  2.  a,  Two  upper  molars,  external 
view ;  6,  same,  internal  view ;  c,  external  view  of  mature 
lower  molar ;  d,  internal  view  of  same.  3.  Fang.  4.  Horn. 

Winterberry  (Ilex  vertidllata). 

1,  flowering  branch  of  the  male  plant ;  2,  branch  of  the  female 
plant,  with  fruit ;  a,  single  fruit  on  larger  scale. 

Explanatory  descriptions  in  small  type,  immedi- 
ately following  the  legend  line  of  an  illustration 
in  the  text,  when  of  three  lines  or  over,  may  be  in 
hanging  indention.  When  they  make  two  short 


238    Avoid  needless  points  in  descriptions 

lines  only,  put  them  in  the  centre.  Paragraph 
indention  for  one  paragraph  only  is  not  a  good 
choice. 

The  illustrations  in  many  educational  works  are 
covered  with  engraved  letters  or  figures  that  refer 
to  descriptions  in  the  small  type  below  the  legend 
line.  These  characters  of  reference  when  repeated 
in  type  are  too  often  made  obscure  by  iriclosure  in 
parentheses,  or  by  the  insertion  of  useless  periods 
and  em  dashes,  which  do  not  help  but  really  be- 
wilder the  reader,  as  in  this  example : 

a.  —sclerotic  a  sclerotic 

b.  —  choroid  b  choroid 

c.  —  ciliary  nerves  c  ciliary  nerves 

d.  —  retina  d  retina 

e.  —  vitreous  body  e  vitreous  body 

f.  —  crystalline  f  crystalline 

The  explanations  are  quite  as  clear  and  the  print 
is  more  sightly  without  the  points  and  dashes. 

It  is  a  good  general  rule  in  typography  not  to  use 
any  point  or  character  that  does  not  make  the  sense 
clearer  or  the  print  more  readable.  The  periods, 
dashes,  and  parentheses  about  marks  of  reference 
noticeable  in  some  manuscripts  were  seldom  made 
to  be  repeated ;  they  are  really  scratches  made  un- 
thinkingly by  the  writer  without  a  foreknowledge 
of  their  effect  in  print.  The  rule  follow  copy  (rarely 
to  be  disobeyed)  may  be  put  aside  when  it  is  evident 
to  the  compositor  or  proof-reader  that  the  super- 
fluous signs  are  a  disfigurement  to  the  printed  page, 
and  are  not  at  all  helpful  to  the  reader. 


Arrangement  of  text  about  initials      239 

Take  special  pains  to  avoid  the  use  of  dashes  in 
legend  lines.  Do  not  insert  them  after  Fig.  1,  Fig. 
2,  etc.,  when  they  refer  to  engraved  letters  in  the 
illustration.  The  points,  and  even  the  word  Fig., 
do  not  help  the  reader ;  they  do  disfigure  the  line. 

WADY  OLLAKEE.— ANCIENT  ARAB  CASTLE. 
WADY  OLLAKEE.   ANCIENT  ARAB  CASTLE. 

FIG.  7.  — THE  FULL  MOON. 
7   THE  FULL  MOON. 

FIG.  8.— GLASS  GLOBE,  CRACKED. 
8   GLASS  GLOBE,  CRACKED. 

The  word  Fig.  before  and  the  full  point  after  the 
numeral  are  equally  superfluous ;  the  figure  alone 
makes  a  clearer  reference  mark.  (See  remarks  on 
the  abuse  of  the  dash,  in  Chapter  xv.) 

In  a  close  text  of  solid  matter  brackets  and  pa- 
rentheses are  chiefly  needed  to  separate  words  or 
clauses  that  may  have  been  interjected  b'ut  are  not 
really  vital  to  the  sense.  In  open  composition,  and 
in  special  paragraphs  in  small  type,  the  brackets 
and  parentheses  are  not  needed. 

In  the  composition  of  pages  in  two  columns,  in 
which  a  very  large  initial  letter  or  initial  cut  com- 
pels the  temporary  use  of  full,  broad  measure,  do 
not  make  composition  in  broad  measure  extend 
below  the  cut  or  the  initial.  Return  to  the  use  of 
half  measure  as  soon  as  you  have  passed  the  cut. 


240       Types  selected  for  side-headings 

SIDE-HEADINGS 

When  much  matter  has  to  be  crowded  in  a  small 
space,  side-headings  are  preferred.  In  dictionaries 
and  similar  books  of  reference,  types  of  bold  face 
are  usually  selected. 

The  old-fa§hioned  fat-face  or  title  let- 
ter once  had  the  greatest  favor,  but  it  is  slowly 
passing  out  of  use.  It  does  not  wear  well,  and  be- 
comes indistinct  when  its  hair-lines  are  gapped  and 
serifs  blunted. 

A  clean-cut  antique  of  a  lighter  face  is  more 
distinct  and  gives  promise  of  better  service. 

Gothic  lower-case  is  not  a  good  choice,  for 
the  absence  of  serifs  in  a  condensed  type  may  hud- 
dle some  letters  to  their  confusion. 

Expanded  type  of  any  style  does  not 
produce  acceptable  side-headings.  A  moderately 
compressed  plain  display  letter  which  lines  with  the 
roman  of  the  text  is  more  satisfactory.  Lower- 
case form's  are  always  to  be  preferred. 

SMALL  CAPITALS  OF  THE  TEXT  are  largely  used  for 
side-headings.  In  this  position  the  large  capitals 
of  a  text-type  of  small  size  may  be  selected  with  pro- 
priety for  the  initials  of  the  more  important  words. 

Italic  lower-case  is  more  generally  serviceable  for 
side-headings  than  any  other  face  of  type. 

Eccentric  forms  of  lettering  should  never  be  used 
for  the  side-heading.  They  do  not  make  reading 
easier,  and  their  peculiarities  do  annoy  the  reader. 


XV 


PUNCTUATION 

N  apology  may  be  demanded  for  a  new 
essay  on  punctuation.  Every  English 
grammar  has  a  chapter  on  this  subject, 
and  there  are  many  books  of  authority 
that  treat  of  punctuation  exclusively. 
Why  should  any  one  add  to  the  number? 

The  treatises  we  now  have,  written  to  instruct 
undisciplined  writers  in  the  punctuation  of  their 
own  writings,  give  but  little  help  to  the  compositor, 
whose  first  business  it  is  to  copy,  and  not  to  write. 
He  is  enjoined  strictly  to  follow  the  copy  and  never 
to  change  the  punctuation  of  any  author  who  is 
precise  and  systematic ;  but  he  is  also  required  to 
punctuate  the  writings  of  all  authors  who  are  not 
careful,  and  to  make  written  expression  intelligible 
in  the  proof.  When  to  follow  copy,  and  when  not 
to  follow,  is  not  taught  in  any  treatise  on  grammar. 

241 


242        Limitations  of  didactic  teaching 

Compositors  who  begin  the  study  of  grammar  to 
learn  a  system  of  punctuation  are  often  repelled  at 
the  outset  by  its  scientific  phraseology.  To  under- 
stand the  grammatical  rules  a  compositor  should 
have  (which  he  may  not)  some  previous  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  but  he  soon  finds  that  there  are  too 
many  rules  and  exceptions  to  be  memorized.  Nor 
can  the  rules  of  punctuation  that. he  may  acquire 
be  adapted  to  unlike  writings.  A  year's  experience 
at  type-setting  teaches  him  that  poems  and  bibli- 
ographies, sermons  and  market  reports,  cannot  be 
punctuated  by  the  same  code.  Different  systems 
of  pointing  prevail  in  different  houses :  authors, 
editors,  and  proof-readers  have  opinions  of  their 
own,  and  do  not  always  defer  to  the  grammarians, 
and  the  compositor  has  to  accept  their  rulings  as 
final.  It  follows  that  compositors  are  inclined  to 
neglect  the  study  of  rules  that  cannot  be  generally 
applied.  To  write  on  a  subject  that  has  met  with 
continued  disregard  is  hazardous,  but  the  writer 
believes  that  the  attention  of  the  young  composi- 
tor, who  most  needs  instruction,  may  be  secured 
by  giving  to  him  less  of  rule  and  more  of  example, 
and  by  trying  to  point  out  where  he  may  and 
where  he  must  not  deviate  from  the  punctuation 
of  copy.  Even  in  this  restricted  field  didactic 
teaching  has  its  limitations. 

The  question  of  the  compositor,  Shall  I  correct 
the  punctuation  of  my  copy,  which  I  consider  is 
faulty  f  is  rarely  answered  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 


Imperfect  preparation  of  copy         243 

the  parties  interested.  If  the  cop}'  is  neatly  pre- 
pared, obviously  the  work  of  a  disciplined  writer  who 
points  with  system  and  is  mindful  of  detail,  his 
pointing  should  not  be  altered  by  any  person,  even 
if  it  does  violate  the  rules  of  the  house.  It  is  the 
author's  right  to  use  his  own  system,  and  the  com- 
positor must  neither  make  nor  suggest  any  change. 
If  the  proof-reader  thinks  that  the  author's  system 
of  pointing  will  confuse  the  reader,  he  may  (but  it 
requires  tact  to  do  so)  invite  the  attention  of  the 
author  to  its  vagueness.  There  his  duty  ends.  He 
must  accept  the  author's  decision.  Meddling  with 
an  educated  author's  punctuation  is  always  inju- 
dicious, and  may  be  regarded  as  impertinent. 

Conditions  are  altered  when  copy  is  pointed  un- 
evenly, badly,  or  not  at  all.  A  reader  will  find  more 
fault  with  the  printer  than  with  the  author  if  the 
text  is  confused  by  bad  punctuation,  for  it  is  gen- 
erally understood  that  punctuation  is  the  duty  of 
the  printer.  This  belief  is  not  always  just,  but  the 
printer  has  to  conform  for  the  sake  of  his  reputa- 
tion, and  has  to  require  the  compositor  to  give  his 
aid  when  the  copy  has  been  hastily  prepared.  It 
is  his  interest  to  do  so.  Copy  comes  into  every 
printing-house  in  which  the  commas  and  periods 
are  omitted,  the  colons  and  semicolons  are  inter- 
changed unwisely,  and  the  too  handy  dash  is  made 
to  serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  right  point.  For 
the  compositor  to  follow  copy  badly  prepared  is 
to  postpone  an  easy  correction  in  the  stick  for  a 


244      Close  pointing  is  sometimes  needed 

more  troublesome  correction  on  the  stone.  In  all 
printing-houses  it  is  the  duty  of  the  compositor 
to  try  to  make  composition  intelligible,  so  far  as 
it  can  be  done,  by  the  proper  use  of  points. 


CLOSE  AND   OPEN   PUNCTUATION 

Two  systems  of  punctuation  are  in  use.  One  may 
be  called  the  close  or  stiff,  and  the  other  the  open 
or  easy  system.  For  all  ordinary  descriptive  writ- 
ing the  open  or  easy  system,  which  teaches  that 
points  be  used  sparingly,  is  in  most  favor,  but  the 
close  or  stiff  system  cannot  be  discarded.  It  is  of 
importance  in  the  composition  of  laws,  legal  and 
ecclesiastical  formularies,  and  in  precise  composi- 
tions of  every  description.  Even  the  omission  of 
the  hyphen  in  words  meant  to  be  compounded  may 
make  a  serious  error.1 

Close  pointing  is  obligatory  also  in  blank  verse 
of  inverted  construction,  and  in  all  kinds  of  writ- 

l  The  importance  of  a  hyphen  the  legislators  to  use  the  corn- 
was  clearly  shown  by  its  ahsence  pound  word  fruit -seeds,  that 
in  a  printed  enactment  of  Con-  fruit  qualified  seeds,  and  that 
gress,  which  enactment  specified  the  seeds  only  of  fruit  were  free 
certain  articles  free  of  customs  of  duty.  On  appeal  it  was  de- 
duty.  In  this  specification  ap-  cided  that  the  enactment  must 
peared  the  words  "  fruit,  seeds,"  he  construed  strictly  hy  the  of- 
as  they  are  here  printed.  Im-  ficial  print.  Fruits  as  well  as 
porters  of  fruit  claimed  that  fruit  seeds  were  made  free  of  duty, 
meant  fruit  of  all  kinds,  and  The  thoughtless  insertion  of  a 
seeds  meant  seeds  of  all  kinds,  comma  instead  of  a  hyphen  de- 
But  the  collector  decided  that  prived  the  United  States  of 
the  comma  was  a  typographical  duties  amounting  to  many  thou- 
error,  that  it  was  the  intent  of  sands  of  dollars. 


Points  have  small  elocutionary  value   245 

ing  in  which  many  distinct  statements  are  welded 
together  in  one  long  sentence.  Complicated  sen- 
tences are  not  quickly  comprehended,  whether  they 
have  few  or  many  points,  but  many  authors  believe 
that  the  understanding  will  be  assisted  if  points 
are  liberally  used.  This  is  a  serious  mistake,  but 
compositors  must  conform  to  the  author's  wish. 

The  proper  use  of  points  is  largely  governed  by 
construction;  points  may  be  scant  in  direct  but 
must  be  frequent  in  indirect  statements.  Yet  this 
remark  does  not  always  hold.  To  understand  and 
properly  punctuate  the  words  of  a  clear  thinker 
and  ready  writer  who  expresses  his  thoughts  curtly 
may  be  difficult,  even  in  short  sentences  of  simple 
construction.  A  statement  too  tersely  expressed 
must  have  points  to  make  it  intelligible.  Without 
points  the  two  sentences  following  are  unmeaning : 

I  said  and  and  not  or. 

That  that  is  is  that  that  is  not  is  not. 

I  said  and,  and  not  or. 

That  that  is,  is ;  that  that  is  not,  is  not. 

The  function  of  points  is  to  make  expression  in- 
telligible.    Punctuation  tries  to  do  this  by  sepa- 
rating the  words  that  are  not  closely  related,  and  by 
keeping  together  those  that  are  related.     Inciden- 
tally points  justify  rules  of  grammar,  but  the  dem- 
onstration of  these  rules  is  not  their  first  purpose. 
Points  have  small  elocutionary  value.     The  old 
teachings  that  there  should  be  one  pause  in  the 
16 


246    Relation  of  punctuation  to  grammar 

voice  after  a  comma,  two  pauses  after  a  semicolon, 
three  pauses  after  a  colon,  and  four  pauses  after  a 
period,  are  now  generally  condemned.  The  dash, 
interrogation,  exclamation,  and  parenthesis  are  the 
only  points  that  can  be  made  generally  useful  as 
guides  for  the  voice. 

Before  attempting  to  show  prevailing  usage  con- 
cerning points,  it  is  well  to  begin  with  the  admis- 
sion that  punctuation  is  not  included  in  the  exact 
sciences.  It  is  not  even  an  established  system,  for 
the  rules  of  its  teachers  differ,  and  so  does  the 
practice  of  scholars  taught  by  the  same  teacher. 
Nor  can  the  rules  of  any  system  be  applied  to  all 
books.  Points  may  be  omitted  or  inserted  in  a 
directory  in  a  manner  that  would  not  be  tolerated 
in  the  ordinary  book.  The  writings  of  Pope  and 
Macaulay  may  be  punctuated  by  rules  that  are  not 
properly  applied  to  those  of  Swift  or  Browning. 
Punctuation  is  a  system  of  much  flexibility,  for 
its  points  are  made  to  serve  different  purposes,  as 
will  be  shown  on  following  pages. 

A  knowledge  of  grammar  is  of  great  value  in 
enabling  a  compositor  to  punctuate  properly.  He 
who  has  been  taught  to  parse  and  to  dissect  con- 
struction should  be  qualified  to  separate  a  complex 
sentence  into  its  component  parts.  It  is  not  within 
the  scope  of  this  essay  to  treat  of  grammar,  but  it  is 
proper  here  to  show  that  the  different  parts  of  a 
complex  sentence  are  not  unlike  the  different  parts 
of  a  book.  Its  division  into  chapters,  paragraphs, 


247 

and  sentences  shows  at  a  glance  the  relative  value 
of  each  part.  A  broad  blank  at  the  ending  and  at 
the  beginning  of  each  chapter,  an  occasional  white 
line  between  two  paragraphs,  and  smaller  type  for 
extracts  and  notes,  are  other  aids.  The  marks  of 
punctuation  serve  a  similar  purpose,  for  they  sub- 
divide the  sentence  so  that  the  reader  can  more 
quickly  catch  its  meaning. 

GRAMMATICAL   NAMES 

The  grammatical  names  of  the  component  parts 
of  a  long  sentence  are  the  particle,  the  phrase,  and 
the  clause  or  member,  which  are  thus  defined  in 
the  Century  dictionary : 

Particle,  a  part  of  speech  that  is  considered  of 
minor  consequence,  .  .  .  especially  conjunctions, 
prepositions,  and  primitive  adverbs.  The  term 
is  loose  and  unscientific. 

Phrase,  a  brief  expression ;  .  .  .  two  or  more  words 
expressing  what  is  practically  a  single  notion. 

Member,  .  .  .  any  unit  or  division  that  can  be 
considered  separately  as  part  of  a  total. 

Clause,  one  of  the  lesser  sentences  which  united 
and  modified  form  a  compound  or  complex  sen- 
tence. A  clause  differs  from  a  phrase  in  contain- 
ing both  a  subject  and  its  predicate,  while  a 
phrase  is  a  group  of  two  or  more  words  not  con- 
taining both  these  essential  elements  of  a  simple 
sentence. 

Sentence,  a  form  of  words  having  grammatical 
completeness ;  a  number  of  words  constituting  a 
whole. 


248      Definitions  of  grammatical  names 

A  sentence  that  makes  a  direct  statement  with  one 
subject,  one  verb,  and  one  object  needs  no  comma. 1 

Jolm  went  to  the  city. 
Columbus  discovered  America. 

When  these  simple  sentences  are  amplified  by  added 
words,  one  or  more  commas  may  be  used,  as  in 

John,  James,  and  Charles  went  to  the  city. 

If  a  comma  is  not  put  after  John  the  reader  may 
understand  John  James  to  be  one  person.  In  the 
example,  John  and  James  went  to  the  city,  the 
comma  is  not  needed ;  but  if  it  is  omitted  after 
James,  in  the  third  example,  the  impression  may 
be  made  that  James  and  Charles  were  travellers 
with  each  other  and  not  fellows  with  John.  The 
omission  of  the  comma  before  the  word  and,  in 
every  nominative  that  specifies  three  or  more  per- 
sons or  things,  is  an  error  often  made  by  rapid 

l  These  are  Goold  Brown's  be  thirsty,  give  him  water  to 

definitions  and  illustrations :  drink." 

A  Phrase  is  two  or  more  words  The  terms  clause  and  member 

which  express  some  relation  of  in  grammar  appear  to  have  been 

different  ideas,  but  no  entire  generally  used  as  words  sy- 

proposition ;  as,  "  By  the  means  nonymous  ;  but  some  authors 

appointed." — "  To  be  plain  with  have  thought  it  convenient  to 

you."  —  "  Having  loved  his  discriminate  them,  as  having 

own."  different  senses.  Hiley  says, 

A  Clause,  or  Member, is  a  sub-  "Those  parts  of  a  sentence 

division  of  a  compound  sen-  which  are  separated  by  commas, 

tence ;  and  is  itself  a  sentence,  are  called  clauses ;  and  those  sep- 

either  simple  or  compound :  as,  arated  by  semicolons,  are  called 

"If  thine  enemy  be  hungry,  members."  Grammar  of  Eng- 

give  him  bread  to  eat;  if  he  lish  Grammars,  p.  458. 


Construction  and  punctuation         249 

writers,  but  the  comma  should  be  inserted  by  the 
compositor  unless  forbidden  by  the  proof-reader. 

Christopher  Columbus,  an  Italian  by  birth,  dis- 
covered America. 

The  addition  of  an  Italian  by  birth,  which  breaks 
the  directness  of  the  statement,  requires  this  phrase 
to  be  separated  by  commas. 

It  is  said  that  Christopher  Columbus,  an  Italian 
by  birth,  discovered  America. 

In  this  position  the  preliminary  phrase  it  is  said 
does  not  break  the  directness  of  the  statement. 

When  this  sentence  is  expanded  by  the  addition 
of  the  following  words  it  becomes  a  compound 
sentence,  for  it  makes  many  statements  and  needs 
many  points : 

It  is  said  that  Christopher  Columbus,  an  Italian 
by  birth,  discovered  America,  but  he  saw  its  out- 
lying islands  only ;  the  honor  of  the  discovery  of 
the  mainland  being  surrendered  to  Vespucius, 
although  there  is  some  warrant  for  the  belief  that 
the  northern  part  of  America  had  been  visited  by 
Norsemen  in  the  twelfth  century. 

The  words  on  each  side  of  the  semicolon  make 
two  distinct  statements,  and  are  known  as  mem- 
bers or  clauses  of  the  sentence.  The  example  will 
show  that  punctuation  depends  largely  on  the 
construction  of  words.  The  two  members  of  the 
sentence  in  the  example  could  be  put  properly 


250        Components  of  the  long  sentence 

in  two  sentences,  if  the  word  being  were  changed  to 
the  word  is.  The  statements  could  be  put  in  three 
sentences,  if  the  word  although  had  been  omitted, 
but  the  use  of  the  words  being  and  although  makes 
the  latter  statements  dependent  on  the  former. 

Language  can  be  constructed  so  that  the  clause 
of  one  sentence  will  be  the  phrase  in  another,  and 
two  connected  members  can  be  framed  as  inde- 
pendent sentences.  The  preceding  example  (with 
others  to  follow)  should  be  sufficient  to  define  the 
different  parts  of  a  long  sentence,  and  to  show  the 
importance  of  points.  From  them  the  compositor 
should  frame  these  general  rules : 

A  sentence  makes,  or  is  intended  to  make,  com- 
plete sense.  In  ordinary  description  it  begins  with 
a  capital  and  usually  ends  with  a  period. 

A  member  does  not  make  complete  sense  for 
the  want  of  a  word  or  words  expressed  or  implied 
in  a  previous  or  following  member.  It  is  defined 
usually  by  a  semicolon  or  colon. 

The  phrase,  always  incomplete  as  to  sense,  may 
be  defined  by  the  comma,  dash,  or  parenthesis. 

The  particle,  usually  one  word,  limits,  enlarges, 
or  qualifies  the  meaning  of  a  phrase  or  clause,  as : 

It  remains,  perhaps,  to  be  said  .  .  . 
It  is,  therefore,  an  objection  .  .  . 
In  law,  and,  indeed,  in  ethics  .  . 

The  words  perhaps,  therefore,  and,  indeed,  are  par- 
ticles, which  in  stiff  punctuation  are  fenced  in  with 


Simple  and  complex  sentences         251 

commas,  but  in  the  easy  or  open  style  of  punctua- 
tion the  commas  are  frequently  and  wisely  omitted. 
Sentences  are  simple  or  complex.  The  simple 
sentence  of  direct  statement  needs  no  semicolon, 
but  it  may  need  many  commas,  as  in  this  example : 

George  Washington,  elected  the  first  president  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  was  inaugurated  at 
New  York,  in  the  presence  of  the  two  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, on  the  thirtieth  day  of  April  in  the  year  1789. 

The  compound  sentence  makes  two  or  more  state- 
ments which  could  be  separated  into  two  or  more 
sentences  by  a  slight  change  of  words.  It  may  con- 
sist of  few  words,  as  in  the  following  illustration  : 

To  err  is  human  ;  to  forgive  divine. 
These  statements  could  be  put  in  two  sentences : 
To  err  is  human.     To  forgive  is  divine. 

But  the  two  statements  are  more  forcibly  presented 
in  one  sentence. 

THE   COMPLEX    SENTENCE 

In  the  illustration  that  follows  is  a  complex  sen- 
tence which  could  be  divided  into  two  or  more  in- 
dependent sentences,  but  the  writer  believed  that 
his  thought  could  be  more  clearly  expressed  in  one 
sentence.  The  colon,  semicolon,  quote-marks,  and 
parentheses  are  really  needed  to  enable  the  reader 


252    Complex  sentences  need  many  points 

to  discern  the  relation  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
sentence  to  one  another. 

It  is  an  old  and  veritable  saying  that,  "  whoever 
would  bring  home  with  him  the  wealth  of  the  Indies 
must  first  take  out  with  him  the  wealth  of  the  In- 
dies "  ;  which,  as  to  lexicographers,  may  be  thus  par- 
aphrased :  whoever  would  undertake  to  reform  the 
orthography  of  a  language  (which  orthography  was 
acceptable  to  the  masters  of  the  language  from  the 
days  of  Johnson  to  the  day  of  such  reformer),  must 
bring  to  the  task  something  more  than  the  qualities 
of  a  patient,  diligent  student.1 

In  the  first  illustration,  to  err  is  human;  to  forgive 
divine,  there  are  two  members,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  semicolon,  but  no  phrase  or  particle.  Accord- 
ing to  old  rules,  a  comma  should  follow  the  words 
err  and  forgive;  but  commas  are  not  needed,  for 
the  statement  can  be  understood  without  them. 

In  the  illustration  above  the  words  before  the 
semicolon  constitute  one  member  of  the  sentence ; 
the  words  between  semicolon  and  colon  make  an- 
other member ;  the  words  after  the  colon  two  more 
members ;  the  words  inclosed  in  parentheses  are  a 
long  parenthetical  clause ;  it  is  an  old  and  veritable 
saying  is  a  long  phrase ;  and  as  to  lexicographers  is 
a  shorter  phrase. 

These  examples  should  lead  to  these  rules :  the 
semicolon  or  colon  separates  the  members  of  the 

i  Gould's  Good  English,  p.  141.    His  punctuation. 


Comma  as  a  mark  of  separation       253 

sentence ;  the  comma  separates  phrases,  particles, 
and  sometimes  clauses.  When  a  member  is  long, 
with  quotations  or  other  irregularities,  it  may  be 
necessary  (to  prevent  the  too  frequent  repetition  of 
the  comma)  to  make  occasional  use  of  parentheses. 

THE  COMMA 

The  chief  purpose  of  the  comma  is  to  define 
the  particles  and  minor  clauses  of  a  sentence.     ft 
Reversed,  and  often  in  pairs,  commas  mark  the 
beginning  of  a  quotation.     Used  singly  and  re- 
versed, the  comma  marks  the  abbreviation  of  Mac 
in  Scotch  names,  as  in  M'Cartney  (not  M'Cartney). 
In  numerical  statements  it  separates  arabic  figures 
by  triplets  in  classes  of  hundreds.     In  table-work 
reversed  commas  badly  serve  as  a  sign  for  ditto. 

The  comma  is  not  needed  in  the  simple  sentence 
with  one  nominative,  one  verb,  and  one  object ;  but 
it  is  needed  when  its  simplicity  and  directness 
are  broken  by  the  addition  or  repetition  of  nouns, 
verbs,  adjectives,  or  adverbs  that  do  not  qualify 
the  words  that  directly  follow. 

Ulysses  was  wise,  eloquent,  cautious,  and  intrepid, 
as  was  requisite  in  a  leader  of  men. 

Ease,  indulgence,  luxury,  and  sloth  are  causes  of 
misery. 

He  shot,  hanged,  imprisoned,  or  exiled  the  insur- 
gents, and  offered  amnesty  to  non-combatants. 


254  Comma  for  words  in  pairs 

When  the  words  are  in  pairs,  connected  by  the 
word  and,  or  disconnected  by  the  word  or,  the 
comma  is  needed  only  at  the  end  of  each  pair. 

Ulysses  was  wise  and  eloquent,  cautious  and  in- 
trepid, as  was  requisite  in  a  leader  of  men. 
Ease  and  indulgence,  luxury  and  sloth,  are  causes 
of  misery. 

He  shot  or  hanged,  imprisoned  or  exiled,  the  in- 
surgents, and  offered  amnesty  to  non-combatants. 

When  the  words  are  not  in  pairs,  the  comma  must 
be  used,  even  if  or  frequently  intervenes. 

O'er  bog,  o'er  steep,  through  strait,  rough,  dense,  or  rare. 
With  head,  hands,  wings,  or  feet,  pursues  his  way, 
And  swims,  or  sinks,  or  wades,  or  creeps,  or  flies. 

An  obsolete  rule  of  punctuation  ordered  that  the 
comma  should  be  used  at  the  slight  pauses  of  the 
voice  usually  made  in  reading  aloud,  and  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  defective  but  implied  words. 

From  law  arises  security ;  from  security,  inquiry ; 
from  inquiry,  knowledge. 

The  modern  practice  of  punctuation  retains  the 
two  semicolons  in  this  illustration  and  discards  the 
commas ;  but  if  a  compositor  finds  these  commas 
in  copy  he  should  follow  that  copy. 

The  comma  should  not  be  used  between  words 
when  these  words  directly  qualify  other  words  and 
the  object  and  immediately  precede  that  object. 

A  lady's  enamelled  gold  hunting  watch. 


Comma  a  substitute  for  implied  words    255 

But  if  the  noun  begins  the  sentence,  as  is  usual  in 
catalogues,  then  the  commas  are  needed. 

Watch,  lady's  hunting,  enamelled  gold. 

The  comma  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  defective 
words  in  specifying  addresses  of  persons. 

He  lives  at  Hudson,  Columbia  County,  New  York. 

These  commas  are  practically  the  substitutes  for 
in  Columbia  County  and  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
A  salutation  or  an  explanatory  phrase,  not  really 
needed  to  perfect  the  meaning,  but  incorporated  in 
the  body  of  the  sentence,  should  be  separated  from 
the  context  by  commas. 

The  correct  practice  of  punctuation,  John,  is  not 

acquired  without  thought  or  study. 

Go,  flatterer,  go  thy  way. 

Paul,  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  was  martyred. 

I  am,  my  dear  sir,  your  obedient  servant. 

Hear  me,  friends,  for  my  cause. 

The  address  or  explanation  is  a  break  in  directness, 
and  consequently  needs  separation.  It  is  practi- 
cally parenthetical,  but  is  of  too  slight  importance 
to  deserve  inclosure  in  parentheses. 

Breaks  like  the  following  may  be  short  or  long, 
but  they  are  usually  separated  by  the  comma. 

He  told  me,  cordially,  that  I  had  his  approval. 
He  told  me,  in  the  most  courteous  and  compli- 
mentary manner,  that  I  had  his  approval. 


256       Comma  used  to  separate  particles 

The  clause  that  begins  a  sentence  with  a  limiting 
word  like  if,  when,  where,  whenever,  etc.,  should  be 
kept  separate  by  a  comma,  even  when  the  state- 
ment so  made  may  seem  to  be  direct. 

When  English  printers  did  decide  to  use  quote- 
marks,  they  refused  the  French  form. 

In  this  example  the  use  of  the  comma  is  justified 
by  the  need  of  two  subjects  and  two  verbs. 

When  two  statements,  each  with  its  own  subject, 
verb,  and  object,  are  put  in  one  sentence,  the  comma 
should  be  used  to  show  their  distinctiveness,  even 
when  the  sentence  is  very  short. 

John  saw  William,  and  William  saw  Susan. 

A  particle  at  the  beginning  of  any  sentence  that 
implies  its  relation  to  a  previous  sentence  should 
be  separated  from  its  context  by  a  comma. 

Moreover,  he  called  Prince  John  a  villain. 
Lastly,  what  lay  you  to  their  charge  *? 

When  the  particle  or  parenthetical  phrase  is  in  the 
text  of  the  sentence,  it  is  usually  but  not  invariably 
preceded  as  well  as  followed  by  a  comma. 

You  may,  perhaps,  ask  me  why  I  ride. 
He  is,  it  is  said,  a  man  of  great  learning. 

The  comma  is  not  always  needed  at  the  transition 
point  of  comparison  or  antithetical  statement,  but 
when  it  appears  in  a  quotation,  as  from  the  Bible 
or  other  classic,  the  comma  must  be  repeated. 


Comma  frequently  misused  257 

Better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  than  a 
stalled  ox  and  hatred  therewith. 

When  each  clause  is  a  distinct  statement  with  its 
own  verb  and  implied  nominative,  use  the  comma. 

Damn  with  faint  praise,  assent  with  civil  leer, 
And  without  sneering  teach  the  rest  to  sneer ; 
Willing  to  wound,  and  yet  afraid  to  strike ; 
Just  hint  a  fault,  and  hesitate  dislike. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  direct  statement  which  con- 
tains a  very  long  nominative  without  parenthetical 
clause  need  not  have  a  comma  to  separate  it  from 
the  verb,  but  the  comma  is  often  used. 

To  be  constantly  employed  in  laudable  pursuits  is 
characteristic  of  a  good  man. 

That  the  governor  of  this  great  state  of  Illinois 
should  make  this  unworthy  appeal  to  the  passions 
and  prejudices  of  the  foreign-born  citizens  of  the 
nation  must  always  be  a  cause  of  mortification  to 
every  lover  of  his  country. 

This  long  sentence  does  not  require  a  comma,  but  if 
the  comma  appears  in  copy  after  the  word  nation, 
the  compositor  should  insert  it  in  type. 

The  comma  is  needlessly  used  at  the  beginning 
of  formal  resolutions  in  the  phrases  Whereas,  It 
appears  .  .  .  Resolved,  That  .  .  .  Ordered,  That  .  .  . 
If  these  first  words  appeared  in  the  middle  of  any 
long  paragraph  they  would  not  have  the  attached 
comma  or  be  followed  by  a  capital  letter. 


258    Involved  sentences  hard  to  punctuate 

When  construction  is  inverted,  and  the  objective 
precedes  the  nominative,  a  comma  is  much  needed. 

To  the  good,  old  age  is  the  time  of  content. 

Omit  the  comma,  and  good  would  seem  to  qualify 
old  age.  Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  prevent  con- 
fusion, the  comma  should  be  used  between  words 
not  directly  connected  in  sense,  even  when  it  does 
separate  the  verb  from  the  nominative. 

An  involved  construction  of  the  sentence  always 
makes  punctuation  difficult.  When  three  or  more 
distinct  statements  are  welded  together  in  one  sen- 
tence, and  each  one  of  its  members  is  loaded  with 
parenthetical  phrases  which  moderate,  connect,  or 
explain  an  apparent  discord  in  other  members  of 
that  sentence,  the  commas  omitted  by  the  author 
may  have  to  be  inserted  in  places  where  they  would 
not  be  allowed  in  a  sentence  of  simple  construction.1 
Phrases  like  it  is  said,  however  this  may  be,  to  be  can- 
did, etc. ;  the  conjunctions  and,  but,  or;  the  rela- 
tive pronouns  which,  that ;  and  the  adverbs  perhaps, 
notwithstanding,  moreover,  may  require  a  following 
comma,  but  this  comma  is  often  inserted  where  it 

i  The  most  important  princi-  overcome  by  the  multiplication 
pie  for  practical  use  is  to  avoid  of  commas.  In  the  following 
overburdening  matter  with  com-  example  the  superfluous  com- 
mas. Almost  inexplicable  con-  mas  are  inclosed  in  parentheses: 
fusion  is  sometimes  introduced  It  remains  (,)  perhaps  (,)  to  be 
in  the  attempt  to  make  the  said  (,)  that,  if  any  lesson  at 
meaning  of  a  sentence  clear  by  all  (,)  as  to  these  delicate  mat- 
pointing  off  every  separable  ters  (,)  is  needed  (,)  in  this 
word  or  clause.  The  involved  period,  it  is  not  so  much  a  les- 
style  of  a  writer  can  rarely  be  son, . . .  Teall,  Punctuation,  p.  11. 


Study  of  good  editions  helpful         259 

muddles  the  sense.  The  compositor  often  has  to 
read  the  sentence  twice  or  thrice  before  he  can  dis- 
cern its  meaning.  As  the  compositor  has  no  right 
to  alter  the  construction,  he  usually  follows  the 
rules  that  prevail  in  most  printing-houses  and  in- 
closes in  commas  the  disjunctive  words  and  quali- 
fying phrases. 

Editors  of  experience  put  severe  restrictions  on 
the  use  of  the  comma  for  particles,  marking  them 
out  unsparingly  in  statements  like  these : 

He  was,  indeed,  a  good  man. 
This,  also,  was  an  error. 

Yet  it  often  happens  that  the  commas  marked  out 
by  the  editor  will  be  reinserted  by  the  author. 

The  most  useful  rules  are  those  that  the  com- 
positor will  make  for  himself  after  a  careful  study 
of  punctuation  in  good  editions  of  good  writers. 
For  a  study  of  close  pointing,  the  common  version 
of  the  Bible,  on  which  many  editors  and  revisers 
have  been  lavish  of  care,  is  an  excellent  text-book. 
Blackstone's  Commentaries  on  Law  is  equally  val- 
uable for  its  precision.  Shakspere  will  show  the 
widest  range  of  expression  from  the  stateliest  dic- 
tion to  the  commonest  colloquialisms.  Nor  should 
writers  so  unlike  as  Dr.  Johnson  and  Sterne,  Ma- 
caulay  and  Carlyle,  be  overlooked.  Milton  is  not 
to  be  recommended,  for  the  latinized  style  and  the 
long,  involved  sentences  of  his  Paradise  Lost  will 
confuse  more  than  they  will  enlighten. 


260      Subject-matter  must  ~be  understood 

While  a  study  of  the  punctuation  of  good  books  is 
of  great  value,  the  compositor  must  not  overlook 
that  of  newspapers,  magazines,  directories,  cata- 
logues, advertisements,  circulars,  and  other  forms 
of  commercial  work.  Different  methods  of  punc- 
tuation are  required  for  these  different  forms  of 
printed  work.  These  methods  are  not  always  in- 
terchangeable, nor  can  they  be  formulated  by  fixed 
rule.  The  compositor  who  hopes  for  clean  proofs 
must  study  also  the  rules  of  punctuation  prevailing 
in  the  house  in  which  he  is  employed. 

Rules  are  of  value,  whether  they  are  found  in 
grammars  or  are  taught  by  proof-readers,  but  they 
can  never  take  the  place  of  an  understanding  of 
subject-matter.  "  An  ounce  of  understanding  is 
worth  a  ton  of  memory,"  wisely  remarked  William 
Cobbett.  Here  is  an  illustration — a  short  sentence 
which  can  be  made  to  convey  contrary  meanings 
by  the  insertion  or  omission  of  two  commas.1 

The  prisoner  said  the  witness  was  a  convicted  thief. 
The  prisoner,  said  the  witness,  was  a  convicted  thief. 

Useful  as  the  comma  is  as  a  helper  in  exact  expres- 
sion, it  can  be  greatly  misused.  The  antiquated 
teaching  that  the  comma  must  be  used  to  indicate 
pauses  of  the  voice  in  impressive  reading  aloud  is 
responsible  for  much  of  the  misuse.  The  memo- 
rizing and  stolid  application  of  old  rules  without 
a  proper  understanding  of  the  subject-matter  is 

l  Why  we  Punctuate,  by  a  Journalist,  p.  30. 


Dean  Alford  on  commas  261 

another  contributory  cause,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
following  passage  from  a  book  by  Dean  Alford : 

From  speaking  of  the  forms  of  words,  we  will  come 
to  punctuation,  or  stopping.  I  remember  when  I 
was  young  in  printing,  once  correcting  the  punctua- 
tion of  a  proof-sheet,  and  complaining  of  the  liber- 
tieswhich  had  been  taken  with  my  manuscript.  The 
publisher  quietly  answered  me,  that  punctuation 
was  always  left  to  the  compositors.  And  a  precious 
mess  they  make  of  it.  The  great  enemies  to  un- 
derstanding anything  printed  in  our  language  are 
the  commas.  And  these  are  inserted  by  the  com- 
positors, without  the  slightest  compunction,  on 
every  possible  occasion.  Many  words  are  by  rule 
always  hitched  off  with  two  commas ;  one  before 
and  one  behind ;  nursed,  as  the  Omnibus  Company 
would  call  it.  "  Too  "  is  one  of  these  words  ;  "  how- 
ever," another;  "  also,"  another;  the  sense  in  almost 
every  such  case  being  disturbed,  if  not  destroyed 
by  the  process.  I  remember  beginning  a  sentence 
with  —  "  However  true  this  may  be."  When  it 
came  in  proof,  the  inevitable  comma  was  after  the 
"  however,"  thus  of  course  making  nonsense  of 
my  unfortunate  sentence.  I  have  some  satisfac- 
tion in  reflecting,  that,  in  the  course  of  editing  the 
Greek  text  of  the  New  Testament,  I  believe  I  have 
destroyed  more  than  a  thousand  commas,  which 
prevented  the  text  being  properly  understood.1 

To  correct  wrongly  pointed  copy  the  compositor 
should  cogitate  and  understand  each  sentence,  and 

1 A  Plea  for  the  Queen's  English,  pp.  98,  99.    Alf ord's  punctuation. 

The  last  comma  in  this  extract  is  superfluous. 
17 


262  Uses  of  the  semicolon 

mentally  determine  the  points  needed  before  he 
sets  the  first  word.  When  he  has  not  digested  the 
complete  sentence,  and  puts  in  commas  at  the  end 
of  each  clause  as  he  sets  it,  without  understanding 
the  relation  that  one  clause  bears  to  other  clauses, 
he  will  point  unwisely.  Unfortunately,  there  is  a 
wide-spread  belief  that  it  is  better  to  use  too  many 
than  too  few  commas.1 

Use  commas  only  where  they  will  be  of  service  in 
unfolding  the  sense.  In  case  of  doubt,  omit  the  comma. 
Points  must  be  selected  to  aid  the  reader;  they 
should  not  be  used  as  practical  demonstrations  of 
the  rules  of  grammarians  or  of  elocutionists.2 

THE   SEMICOLON 

Semi  ( half )  kolon  (colon)  distinctly  explains  the  ^ 
proper  function  of  this  point.  It  prevents  ^ 
the  repetition  of  the  comma,  and  keeps  apart 

1  This  remark  is  often  made  period  only,  and  it  was  after- 
in  the  composing-room:    "Put  ward  used  to  show  a  separation 
in  commas  enough.   Let  Smarty  between  huddled  words,   or  as 
[the  slang  name  for  the  proof-  the  mark  of  abbreviation.     The 
reader]  mark  'em  out.  It 's  easier  early  printers  used  a  period  at  the 
to  pull  out  than  to  put  in."  This  end  of  sentences,  the  colon,  and 
is  bad  advice.     It  reinforces  the  sometimes  the  slanting  /for  the 
false  teachings  of  old  grammari-  comma.     The  interrogation  was 
ans,  who  fenced  in  the  adverbs  awkwardly  made  with  a  re  versed 
and  conjunctions  of  a  long  sen-  semicolon.     Wynkin  de  Worde. 
tence  until  it  fairly  bristled  with  writing  in  1509,  says  he  used  five 
commas.  points:  the  comma,  the  semico- 

2  The  marks  of  punctuation,  Ion,  the  parenthesis,  the  period, 
as  we  use  them,  are  relatively  and  the  "interrogative."     The 
of  recent  invention.     The  earli-  dash,  apostrophe,   exclamation, 
est  lettering  on  stone  shows  the  and  quote-marks  are  of  laterdate. 


Semicolon  separates  members         263 

the  more  important  members  of  the  sentence.  It  is 
most  used  in  long  sentences,  but  it  may  be  needed 
in  a  short  sentence,  as  in  the  following  example : 

I  eat  to  live ;  you  live  to  eat. 

The  semicolon  should  be  used  in  all  sentences  that 
contain  two  or  more  members,  when  each  member 
makes  a  distinct  statement,  with  some  dependence 
on  statements  in  the  other  member  or  members. 

Wisdom  hath  builded  her  house ;  she  hath  hewn 
out  her  seven  pillars ;  she  hath  killed  her  beasts ; 
she  hath  mingled  her  wine  ;  she  hath  furnished  her 
table. 

Some  place  their  bliss  in  action,  some  in  ease ; 
Those  call  it  pleasure,  and  contentment  these. 

In  the  first  example  the  semicolon  is  needed  be- 
cause each  member  of  the  sentence  is  nearly  com- 
plete in  sense.  Remove  the  words  she  hath  in  all 
members  after  the  first,  and  they  will  become  clauses 
or  amplifications  of  statement,  which  need  commas 
only  for  their  separation ;  but  the  statements  so 
treated  would  lose  much  of  their  force. 

Sit  thou  a  patient  looker-on ; 

Judge  not  the  play  before  the  play  be  done. 

Her  plot  has  many  changes  ;  every  day 

Speaks  a  new  scene.     The  last  act  crowns  the  play. 

As  there  is  no  point  of  an  intermediate  importance 
between  the  semicolon  and  the  comma,  the  semi- 


264          Example  showing  semicolon 

colon  has  to  be  occasionally  used  to  prevent  the  too 
frequent  repetition  of  the  comma  in  the  amplified 
clauses  of  a  long  or  a  complex  nominative.  This 
use  of  the  semicolon  is  most  satisfactory  when  the 
object  of  the  long  nominative  is  briefly  stated. 

For  a  nominative  and  an  objective  that  are  very 
long,  each  composed  of  many  members,  and  each 
apparently  requiring  the  use  of  a  semicolon,  the 
distinction  sought  may  be  more  clearly  made  by 
the  occasional  use  of  the  dash  or  the  parenthesis.1 

It  needs  no  effort  of  imagination  to  conceive  what 
the  sensations  of  an  isolated  set  of  scholars  (almost 
all  either  clergymen  or  professors)  must  have  been, 
in  the  presence  of  this  big-boned,  black-browed, 
brawny  stranger,  with  Ms  great  flashing  eyes,  who, 
having  forced  his  way  among  them  from  the 
plough-tail,  at  a  single  stride,  manifested  in  the 
whole  strain  of  his  bearing  and  conversation,  a 
most  thorough  conviction  that  in  the  society  of  the 
most  eminent  men  of  his  nation,  he  was  exactly 
where  he  was  entitled  to  be ;  hardly  deigned  to 
flatter  them  by  exhibiting  even  an  occasional 
symptom  of  being  flattered  by  their  notice;  by 
turns  calmly  measured  himself  against  the  most 
cultivated  understanding  of  his  time  in  discussion  ; 
overpowered  the  bon  mots  of  the  most  celebrated 
convivialists  by  broad  floods  of  merriment,  impreg- 
nated with  all  the  burning  life  of  genius ;'  astounded 
bosoms  habitually  enveloped  in  the  thrice-piled 
folds  of  social  reserve,  by  compelling  them  to 
tremble, —  nay,  to  tremble  visibly, —  beneath  the 

l  For  a  too  free  use  of  the  dash,  see  the  third 
example  on  page  271. 


Example  showing  semicolon  265 

fearless  touch  of  natural  pathos ;  and  all  this  with- 
out indicating  the  smallest  willingness  to  be  ranked 
among  those  professional  ministers  of  excitement, 
Who  are  content  to  be  paid  in  money  and  smiles 
for  doing  what  the  spectators  and  auditors  would 
be  ashamed  of  doing  in  their  own  persons,  even  if 
they  had  the  power  of  doing  it ;  and  last,  and 
probably  worst  of  all,  who  was  known  to  be  in  the 
habit  of  enlivening  societies  which  they  would 
have  scorned  to  approach,  still  more  frequently 
than  their  own,  with  eloquence  no  less  magnificent ; 
with  wit,  in  all  likelihood  still  more  daring ;  often 
enough,  as  the  superiors  whom  he  fronted  without 
alarm  might  have  guessed  from  the  beginning, 
and  had,  ere  long,  no  occasion  to  guess,  with  wit 
pointed  at  themselves.  Lockhart  on  Burns. 

India  and  its  inhabitants  were  ...  to  him  .  .  . 
a  real  country  and  a  real  people.  The  burning 
sun ;  the  strange  vegetation  of  the  palm  and  the 
cocoa-tree;  the  rice-field  and  the  tank;  the  huge 
trees,  older  than  the  Mogul  Empire,  under  which 
the  village  crowds  assemble ;  the  thatched  roof 
of  the  peasant's  hut,  and  the  rich  tracery  of  the 
mosque,  where  the  imaum  prayed  with  his  face  to 
Mecca ;  the  drums,  and  banners,  and  gaudy  idols ; 
the  devotee  swinging  in  the  air;  the  graceful 
maiden,  with  the  pitcher  on  her  head,  descending 
the  steps  to  the  river-side ;  the  black  faces,  the 
long  beards,  the  yellow  streaks  of  sect ;  the  turbans 
and  the  flowing  robes ;  the  spears  and  the  silver 
maces ;  the  elephants  with  their  canopies  of  state ; 
the  gorgeous  palanquin  of  the  prince,  and  the  close 
litter  of  the  noble  lady  —  all  those  things  were  to 
him  as  the  objects  amidst  which  his  own  life  had 
been  passed  —  as  the  objects  which  lay  on  the  road 
between  Beaconsfield  and  St.  James's  Street. 

Macaulay  on  Burke. 


266 

Unlike  most  of  the  other  points,  the  semicolon  has 
this  merit :  it  cannot  be  perverted  to  any  use  but 
that  of  a  mark  of  punctuation. 


THE   COLON 

Nearly  every  long  sentence  which  consists  of 
many  members  has  its  place  of  transition  in     * 
construction  or  statement,  for  which  place  the 
colon  is  the  proper  mark.     It  is  the  joint  or  hinge 
which  unites  the  members  of  the  nominative  and 
the  objective,  which  would  seem  to  be  disconnected 
if  the  colon  were  omitted. 

Art  has  been  to  me  its  own  exceeding  great  reward : 
it  has  soothed  my  afflictions;  it  has  refined  my 
enjoyments ;  it  has  endeared  solitude ;  and  it  has 
given  me  the  habit  of  wishing  to  discover  the  good 
and  the  beautiful  in  all  that  surrounds  me. 

I  have  neither  the  scholar's  melancholy,  which  is 
emulation ;  nor  the  musician's,  which  is  fantasti- 
cal ;  nor  the  courtier's,  which  is  proud ;  nor  the 
soldier's,  which  is  ambitious ;  nor  the  lawyer's, 
which  is  politic ;  nor  the  lady's,  which  is  nice  ;  nor 
the  lover's,  which  is  all  these :  but  it  is  a  melancholy 
of  my  own,  compounded  of  many  simples;  ex- 
tracted from  many  objects  ;  and,  indeed,  the  sundry 
contemplation  of  my  travels ;  which,  by  often  rumi- 
nation, wraps  me  in  a  sweet  harmonious  sadness. 

In  these  examples  the  sense  is  incompletely  stated 
by  the  words  that  precede  the  colon,  and  it  is  this 


Other  uses  of  the  colon  267 

incompleteness  that  calls  for  its  employment.  No 
other  point  would  serve  as  well.  A  period  in  place 
of  the  colon  would  leave  the  first  expression  but 
half  defined,  and  a  following  new  sentence  would 
be  too  abrupt  for  want  of  a  connecting  particle. 
A  semicolon  in  place  of  a  colon  would  confuse  the 
reader,  for  it  would  not  show  the  point  of  transi- 
tion between  the  leading  members.  The  dash  would 
indicate  a  sudden  change  of  thought,  and  not  the 
logical  sequence  intended. 

A  quotation  incorporated  in  the  text  of  a  sentence 
is  usually  preceded  by  a  colon  and  it  may  begin 
with  a  capital  letter. 

Nothing  can  be  more  sophistical  than  this  aphorism 
from  Pope  :  Whatever  is,  is  right. 

It  is  customary  to  put  a  colon  after  the  compli- 
mentary salutation  in  a  letter  or  an  address,  as : 

Dear  Sir :        Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

The  quotation,  whether  short  or  long,  that  does  not 
make  complete  sense  in  itself,  rarely  needs  a  colon 
before  it,  or  a  beginning  capital  letter. 

The  colon  is  used  after  the  particles  or  phrases 
that  serve  as  introductory  words  to  another  state- 
ment, as  in  to  wit :  viz :  for  example : 

The  colon  has  been  employed  in  the  imprints  on 
the  title-pages  of  books,  as : 

New  York :  Harper  &  Brothers,  1880 


268        The  period  an  overworked  point 

This  employment  of  the  colon  is  traditional,  and 
its  pertinence  in  the  position  cannot  be  explained. 

The  colon  has  been  selected  instead  of  the  period 
to  separate  hours  from  minutes,  and  in  abbrevia- 
tions of  proper  names,  but  this  usage  is  not  gener- 
ally approved.  (See  chapter  on  Abbreviations.) 

No  rule  can  be  laid  down  for  limiting  the  number 
of  the  commas,  semicolons,  dashes,  or  even  periods 
(as  abbreviating  marks)  in  a  long  and  involved 
sentence,  but  there  is  rarely  any  necessity  for  more 
than  one  colon  in  any  sentence.  Exception  may 
be  made  for  the  colon  that  precedes  a  long  quota- 
tion in  which  another  colon  appears.1 

THE   PERIOD 

The  period  marks  the  end  of  a  completed  sen- 
tence.    It  is  also  employed  in  abbreviations  of     f 
proper  names  and  of  foreign  phrases,  as  in  Mr. 
J.  B.  Smith,  i.e.,  q.v.,  etc.     It  separates  hours  from 
minutes,  and  whole  numbers  from  their  decimal 
fractions.     It  is  largely  employed  in  frequent  repe- 
tition as  a  leader  line  to  connect  words  or  figures 
arranged  in  separate  columns.2 

The  period  is  now  omitted  at  the  termination  of 

l  Paradise  Lost  provides    us  2  For  additional  remarks  on 

with  another  notable  exception,  the  proper  use  of  the  period,  see 

In  one   sentence  only  —  a   sen-  chapters  on  Abbreviations  and 

tence  of  forty-three  lines  (book  Figures  and  Numerals,  in  which 

vi,  lines  219-261,  Baskerville  edi-  many  examples  are  presented  of 

tion)  —  I  count  five  colons.  its  manifold  application. 


Objections  to  the  dash  as  a  point      269 

displayed  lines  in  title-pages,  in  running  titles  and 
subheadings,  and  generally  at  the  end  of  all  lines 
that  are  followed  by  blank  space.  Lists  of  names 
set  up  in  columns  or  in  directories,  and  the  endings 
of  paragraphs  of  index  matter,  are  without  final 
periods.  In  these  forms  of  composition  the  period 
is  not  needed  to  indicate  the  end  of  the  sentence. 
As  it  is  the  feeblest  of  all  the  points,  and  least  able 
to  withstand  wear,  it  should  not  be  needlessly 
placed  in  any  exposed  position. 

THE   DASH 

The  dash  is  sometimes  substituted  for  nearly 
all  the  other  points.  It  was  once  used  as  the  ^H 
proper  mark  to  indicate  suppressed  words. 
Sometimes  it  serves  as  a  ditto-mark  in  catalogue 
work.  It  is  employed  to  connect  a  side-heading  with 
the  text  that  follows,  or  to  connect  the  end  of  that 
text  with  the  name  of  the  writer.  Writers  who 
do  not  clearly  know  what  point  is  needed  always 
make  the  dash  serve  as  its  acceptable  equivalent. 
It  has  been  so  much  overworked  that  one  author 
has  called  for  its  abolition. 

Those  who  have  thought  proper,  like  Mr.  Lindley 
Murray,  to  place  the  dash  amongst  the  grammatical 
points,  ought  to  give  us  some  rule  relative  to  its 
different  longitudinal  dimensions  in  different  cases. 
The  inch,  the  three-quarter-inch,  the  half-inch,  the 
quarter-inch ;  these  would  be  something  determi- 


270      Examples  showing  need  of  dashes 

nate ;  but,  '  the  dash,1  without  measure,  must  be  a 
most  perilous  thing  for  a  young  grammarian  to 
handle.  In  short,  '  the  dash '  is  a  cover  for  igno- 
rance as  to  the  use  of  points,  and  it  can  answer  no 
other  purpose.1 

It  is  practicable  to  write  a  grammar,  as  Cobbett 
has  done,  without  using  the  dash,  but  the  dash  has 
been  a  useful  mark  of  punctuation  in  Great  Britain 
and  America  for  at  least  two  centuries.  That  it 
has  been  misapplied  and  made  the  cover  for  igno- 
rance as  to  the  use  of  points  is  undeniable,  but  the 
assertion  that  "  it  can  answer  no  other  purpose " 
cannot  be  accepted.  Sentences  are  frequently  con- 
structed which  would  not  be  intelligibly  expressed, 
and  might  be  entirely  unintelligible,  if  they  were 
not  punctuated  with  the  dash. 

The  dash  should  be  selected  wherever  there  is 
an  abrupt  change  in  a  statement,  as : 

Here  lies  the  great  —  false  marble !  where  ? 
Nothing  but  sordid  dust  lies  here. 

Thus  the  plot  thickens — but  I  weary  you. 

"  The  decision  was  in  your  favor,  but —       Here  the 
speaker  was  ordered  to  stop. 

The  dash  is  often  used  to  give  additional  point  to 
language  in  which  there  is  an  anticlimax. 

Thou,  great  Anna,  whom  three  States  obey, 
Who  sometimes  counsel  takes —  and  sometimes  tea. 

l  Cobbett,  Grammar  of  the  English  Language,  sec.  156. 


The  dash  used  in  amplifications       271 

Good  people  all,  with  one  accord, 

Lament  for  Madame  Blaize, 
Wlio  never  wanted  a  good  word  — 

From  those  who  spoke  her  praise. 

They  will  steal  anything,  and  call  it  —  purchase. 

The  dash  was  much  used  by  authors  of  a  century 
or  more  ago  to  express  in  one  sentence  great  con- 
trariety of  action,  as  appears  in  this  extract  from 
Sterne,  which  is  a  close  reprint  of  his  punctuation  : 

Nature  instantly  ebbed  again; — the  film  returned 
to  its  place;  —  the  pulse  fluttered, — stopped, — 
went  on, —  throbbed, —  stopped  again, —  moved, 
stopped, Shall  I  go  on  ? No. 

The  insertion  of  the  comma  before  the  dash,  as 
appears  in  the  quotation  from  Sterne,  would  now, 
except  in  rare  cases,  be  regarded  as  unnecessary. 

They  yield  —  they  break  —  they  fly : 

The  victory  is  won. 
Pursue  !  they  faint  —  they  fall  —  they  die ; 

Oh  stay !  the  work  is  done. 

The  dash  is  also  used  to  separate  the  repetition  or 
different  amplifications  of  the  same  statement. 

The  infinite  importance  of  what  he  has  to  do  —  the 
goading  conviction  that  it  must  be  done  —  the 
dreadful  combination  in  his  mind  of  both  the  neces- 
sity and  the  incapacity  —  the  despair  of  crowding 
the  concerns  of  an  age  into  a  moment  —  the  im- 
possibility of  beginning  a  repentance  which  should 
have  been  completed  —  of  setting  about  a  peace 


272  Dashes  for  side-headings 

which  should  have  been  concluded  —  of  suing  for 
a  pardon  which  should  have  been  obtained  —  all 
these  complicated  concerns  intolerably  augment 
the  sufferings  of  the  victims. 

In  this  example  dashes  are  used  profusely.     Semi- 
colons would  be  better  for  all  clauses  but  the  last. 
The  dash  is  often  selected  to  amplify  the  details 
of  a  statement  in  a  clause  not  parenthetical. 

But  you  —  that  are  polluted  with  your  lusts, 
Stained  with  the  guiltless  blood  of  innocents. 
Corrupt  and  tainted  with  a  thousand  vices  — 
Because  you  want  the  grace  that  others  have, 
You  judge  it  straight  a  thing  impossible. 

The  dash  is  much  more  visible  as  a  mark  than  the 
comma  or  semicolon,  and  here  serves  a  good  pur- 
pose in  guiding  the  eye  of  the  reader  to  the  unity 
of  the  sentence.  It  is  of  equal  importance  in  legal 
pleadings  that  are  prolix  and  complex,  in  which  the 
same  statement  is  repeated  in  many  forms  and  with 
great  elaboration  of  detail,  for  commas  and  semi- 
colons and  sometimes  parentheses  are  so  frequently 
repeated  that  the  relation  of  the  clauses  is  obscured 
and  the  unity  of  the  sentence  is  temporarily  lost. 
In  any  long  sentence  of  this  description  a  judicious 
employment  of  the  dash  may  unwind  an  apparent 
entanglement  of  words. 

The  dash  is  generally  selected  to  connect  a  side- 
heading  with  the  words  of  the  paragraph,  and  these 
words  with  the  authority  cited  at  the  end. 


The  dash  and  the  parenthesis  273 

A  CYNICAL,  REMARK. —  In  the  misfortunes  of  our 
best  friends  we  always  find  something  that  does 
not  entirely  displease  us. — Eochefomauld. 

Would  not  the  entire  paragraph  be  as  intelligible 
and  more  sightly  without  the  two  dashes  1 

Dashes  are  used  to  specify  a  period  of  time  by 
connecting  extreme  dates,  as  in  1860-1867.  They 
serve  also  to  define  a  reference  to  a  passage  in  the 
Bible,  as  in  Matt,  ix,  1-6,  or  in  the  pages  of  any 
book,  as  pp.  17-23. 

As  the  dash  entirely  fills  the  body  sidewise,  it 
should  have  before  and  after  it  a  thin  space  to  pre- 
vent its  interference  with  adjoining  characters. 

Sterne  used  dashes  freely :  the  em  —  for  a  short 
and  the  two-em  -  -  for  a  long  break  in  narrative. 

French  printers  make  the  dash  serve  as  a  par- 
tial substitute  for  quotation-marks  in  a  dialogue. 
For  this  purpose  the  quotation-marks  are  placed 
only  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  dia- 
logue, even  when  it  is  protracted  over  many  pages. 
The  dash  that  precedes  each  new  paragraph  is  the 
only  mark  that  indicates  a  new  speaker. 

THE  PARENTHESIS 

(The  parenthesis,  usually  shown  in  pairs,    V 
incloses  the  words  added  to  a  sentence      • 
which  would  be  complete  as  to  its  sense,    J 
although  deficient  in  clearness,  without  the  new 
words.     It  is  sometimes  used  singly,  as  well  as 


274          Parenthesis  a  point  of  value 

in  pairs,  to  inclose  reference  figures  and  letters  at 
the  beginning  of  sentences. 

The  parenthesis  is  much  neglected  as  a  mark  of 
punctuation.  As  it  occupies  the  full  height  of  the 
body,  and  is  too  often  needlessly  black  and  staring, 
it  is  frequently  rated  as  too  coarse  and  ungainly  a 
mark  for  a  good  book.  The  dash  is  preferred  by 
authors  and  printers,  but  not  always  wisely.  The 
dash  is  the  proper  point  to  indicate  abruptness,  or 
to  inclose  clauses  containing  different  phases  or 
expansions  of  the  same  statement ;  but  the  paren- 
thesis is  the  only  proper  point  to  define  an  inter- 
polation by  the  writer  in  that  sentence.  The  words 
inclosed  in  the  parentheses  usually  consist  of  an 
explanation  that  could  be  constructed  in  an  inde- 
pendent sentence  to  convey  new  information. 

The  Egyptian  style  of  architecture  (see  Dr.  Pocock 
—  not  his  discourses  but  his  prints)  was  apparently 
the  mother  of  the  Greek. 

Know  then  this  truth  (enough  for  man  to  know) : 
Virtue  alone  is  happiness  below. 

Left  now  to  himself  (malice  could  not  wish  him  a 
worse  adviser),  lie  resolves  on  a  desperate  project. 

He  had  two  Latin  words  almost  constantly  in  his 
mouth  (how  odd  sounds  Latin  from  an  oilman's 
lips),  which  my  better  knowledge  since  has  enabled 
me  to  correct. 

An  interrogation-point  inclosed  within  parentheses 
and  inserted  in  a  sentence  is  a  mark  intended  to 


Parentheses  needed  for  running  comments   275 

express  a  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  statement.  In 
a  similar  position  the  exclamation-point  expresses 
surprise  or  contempt. 

Parentheses  are  sometimes  freely  used  in  a  text 
to  inclose  the  names  as  well  as  the  quoted  words 
of  authorities.  This  is  not  a  good  method.  Cita- 
tions of  the  books  or  authorities  appear  to  a  better 
advantage  in  foot-notes. 

The  parenthesis  is  used,  sometimes  singly  but 
of tener  in  pairs,  to  inclose  the  reference  letters  or 
figures  that  divide  and  classify  precise  statements 
or  arguments,  as : 

(a)  or  a)  or  (!)  or  J) 

When  a  compositor  finds  copy  so  marked  he  must 
follow  it ;  but  he  will  wonder,  as  most  readers  do, 
why  the  reference  figure  or  letter  is  so  small  and 
why  the  inclosing  parentheses  are  so  large. 

He  died  leaving  four  children  (John,  Charles, 
Mary,  Thomas)  inheritors  of  his  estate :  John 
married  his  cousin  Lucy  (daughter  of  James  Boyle) 
and  died  without  issue ;  Charles  was  lost  at  sea  (in 
the  Arctic) ;  Mary  (dying  unmarried)  bequeathed 
her  interest  to  Thomas,  who  is  now  sole  owner  of 
the  estate. 

These  illustrations  show  the  utility  of  the  paren- 
thesis. When  a  new  statement,  not  necessary  to 
its  unity,  is  interpolated  in  a  sentence  by  the  writer, 
that  statement  should  be  put  in  parentheses. 


276        Italic  parenthesis  not  approved 

The  curt  style  compels  the  use  of  the  parenthesis ; 
the  diffuse  style  the  dash. 

A  specification  of  dates  or  figures  is  sometimes 
inclosed  in  parentheses. 

During  this  year  (1816,  May  16)  peace  was  con- 
cluded between  the  two  warring  nations. 

Commas  are  often  improperly  selected  to  inclose  a 
phrase  that  is  strictly  parenthetical.  Parentheses 
seem  to  have  been  avoided  because  those  provided 
by  the  type-founder  are  too  prominent.  When 
properly  made  (as  they  are  for  this  face  of  type), 
they  rarely  will  be  found  objectionable,  and  can 
be  made  useful  in  involved  sentences  as  substitutes 
for  the  overworked  comma  and  dash. 

The  old-fashioned  form  of  parenthesis,  always 
made  too  thick,  may  need  a  thin  space  between  it 
and  its  adjoining  character  when  it  is  placed  too 
close  to  any  letter  that  nearly  fills  the  body  in 
height,  as  in  (Hall).  The  space  may  not  be  needed 
when  the  proximate  character  has  a  shoulder,  as  in 
(Art),  or  when  the  parenthesis  follows  a  period. 

Italic  punctuation-marks  are  now  provided  for  all 
fonts  of  type.  For  job-work  and  full  display  lines 
they  may  be  employed  with  propriety,  but  the  italic 
form  of  parenthesis  is  objectionable  in  good  book- 
work.  Distinction  is  sought  for  the  word  in  italic, 
and  not  for  the  parentheses  inclosing  that  word.1 

i  This  remark  applies  to  short  in  italic  should  make  use  of  any 
phrases  or  citations  only ;  a  sen-  italic  mark  of  punctuation  that 
tence  or  paragraph  exclusively  may  be  needed. 


Brackets  used  by  reporters  and  editors     277 

THE  BRACKET 

[The  bracket  is  also  used  in  pairs  within  a    ~~| 
sentence  to  mark  interjected  words  of  ex-       I 
planation  or  comment  (usually  made  by     J 
author,  reporter,  or  editor)  that  seem  necessary  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  subject.     The  bracket 
inclosing   many   sentences  indicates  passages  of 
inferior  importance  that  may  be  omitted,  or  that 
need  not  be  made  a  part  of  the  text.     It  appears 
most  frequently  in  newspaper  reports  of  speeches, 
as  in  this  example  : 

We  would  have  our  Union  to  be  a  union  of  hearts, 
and  we  would  have  our  Constitution  obeyed,  not 
merely  because  force  compels  that  obedience,  but 
obeyed  because  the  people  love  the  principles  of 
the  Constitution  [long-continued  applause];  and 
to-day,  if  I  am  called  to  the  work  to  which  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was  called  sixteen  years  ago,  it  is 
under  brighter  skies  and  more  favorable  auspices. 
[Applause.] 

These  inclosures  in  brackets  are  obviously  by  the 
reporter.  In  every  literal  reprint  of  a  misspelled 
or  badly  worded  letter,  its  most  indefensible  errors 
are  carefully  pointed  out  by  inclosing  in  brackets 
the  corrections  of  the  faults. 

I  want  you  to  no  [know]  that  I  don't  think  you 
can't  learn  [teach]  my  boys  ennythink  [anything] 
about  gramer  or  speling. 

18 


Sometimes  no  attempt  is  made  to  correct  the  bad 
spelling ;  the  fault  is  sufficiently  noted  'by  putting 
[sic]  or  [so]  after  the  faulty  word. 

The  bracket  is  employed  in  legal  or  ecclesiastical 
papers  where  numerical  words  have  to  be  changed 
to  suit  varying  conditions,  or  where  details  have  to 
be  supplied,  as  in 

This  is  the  first  [second  or  third]  time  of  asking. 
The  directors  of  this  society  shall  be  six  in  number, 
and  shall  remain  in  office  [here  state  the  time] ,  and 
no  longer. 

One  bracket  is  also  used  to  inclose  an  ending  word 
of  a  line  of  poetry  that  will  not  come  within  the 
measure,  and  must  be  turned  over  or  taken  back 
in  the  preceding  short  line. 

Weary  knife-grinder !  little  think  the  proud  ones, 

Who  in  their  coaches  roll  along  the  turnpike  [and 

Road,  what  hard  work 't  is  crying  all  day,  "  Knives 

Scissors  to  grind  0 !  " 

The  bracketing  in  a  previous  line  of  a  word  too 
long  for  the  line  was  common  in  old  printing,  but 
it  is  justifiable  now  only  when  it  saves  space. 

Sometimes  the  bracket  is  used  to  prevent  the 
bewilderment  of  parentheses  within  parentheses. 
Sterne  used  them  freely  for  this  purpose. 

I  know  the  banker  I  deal  with,  or  the  physician  I 
'usually  call  in  —  [There  is  no  need,  cried  Dr.  Slop 
(waking)  to  call  in  any  physician  in  this  case]: — 
to  be  neither  of  them  men  of  much  religion. 


Proper  use  of  the  interrogation        279 

Compositors  are  sometimes  at  a  loss  when  to  use 
the  parenthesis  and  when  to  use  the  bracket.  This 
general  rule  will  apply  in  most  instances : 

Parentheses  always  inclose  remarks  apparently 
made  by  the  writer  of  the  text.  Brackets  inclose 
remarks  certainly  made  by  the  editor  or  reporter 
of  that  text. 

Reprints  of  passages  in  early  manuscripts  that 
may  be  considered  spurious,  special  amendments  to 
statute  law  while  under  legislative  consideration, 
or  any  other  portions  of  a  text  which  need  peculiar 
identification,  are  usually  inclosed  in  brackets. 

THE  INTERROGATION 

The  interrogation  marks  the  end  of  a  question 
that  requires  answer.  It  is  not  needed  when  the 
supposed  question  does  not  call  for  answer.  ^ 

The  Cyprians  asked  me  why  I  wept. 

This  is  an  assertion,  for  it  does  not  ask  a  question. 
If  put  in  interrogative  form,  as  in  the  following 
example,  the  interrogation  is  needed. 

The  Cyprians  said,  Why  dost  thou  weep  ? 

He  asked  the  question,  Will  you  go  to-day,  and  met 

with  refusal. 

In  the  second  example  the  words  are  descriptive, 
and  not  questioning.  Many  writers  would  put  an 


280    Interrogation  to  follow  every  question 

interrogation  after  the  word  to-day,  but  it  is  not 
needed.  In  the  first  example  the  interrogation  is 
needed,  for  an  answer  is  invited. 

Was  the  prisoner  alone  when  he  was  arrested  ? 
Was  he  drunk  ?  Is  he  known  to  the  police  ?  Has 
he  any  regular  business  ?  What  is  his  name  ? 

A  compositor  is  sometimes  perplexed  by  sentences 
that  are  clearly  interrogative  in  form  but  exclam- 
atory in  spirit,  as  in  this  example : 

The  "passing  crowd"  is  a  phrase  coined  in  the 
spirit  of  indifference.  Yet,  to  a  man  of  universal 
sympathies,  and  even  to  the  plain,  ordinary  deni- 
zens of  the  world,  what  can  be  more  interesting 
than  the  "passing  crowd  "  ? 

This  sentence  properly  closes  with  an  interroga- 
tion, for  a  question  is  plainly  asked,  although  an 
answer  may  not  be  expected. 

The  interrogation  should  follow  each  and  every 
separate  question,  however  short  these  questions 
may  be.  It  is  often  needed  before  the  close  of  the 
complete  sentence. 

Was  the  bruise  in  the  flesh?  or  did  it  extend  to 
the  bone  ?  Was  it  on  the  heel  ?  or  on  the  toes  ?  or 
on  the  instep  ? 

To  divide  these  questions  by  commas  or  dashes 
would  impair  their  force,  and  would  not  improve 
the  appearance  of  the  page. 


Varying  uses  of  the  exclamation        281 

THE  EXCLAMATION 

The  exclamation  marks  a  word  or  phrase  in-  w 
tended  to  express  great  surprise  or  emotion.  4 

What  a  piece  of  work  is  man!  how  noble  in 
reason !  how  infinite  in  faculties !  in  form  and 
moving  how  express  and  admirable !  in  action 
how  like  an  angel!  in  apprehension  how  like  a 
god !  the  beauty  of  the  world !  the  paragon  of 
animals ! 

Father  of  light  and  life !  thou  God  supreme ! 
0  teach  me  what  is  good  !  teach  me  thyself ! 

Look,  my  lord !  it  comes ! 

Angels  and  ministers  of  grace,  defend  us ! 

Alas !  poor  Yorick. 

The  exclamation  may  be  placed  at  the  end  of  every 
exclamatory  clause,  without  regard  to  the  length 
of  the  sentence  or  the  number  of  clauses.  Short 
ejaculations,  whether  of  enthusiasm,  as  Bravo! 
Hurrah!  Good!  or  of  contempt,  as  Get  out!  Away! 
or  of  sorrow,  as  Alas !  0 !  always  call  for  the 
exclamation. 

The  exclamation  is  sometimes  marked  in  by  edi- 
tors after  a  word  in  a  quotation,  to  express  surprise 
or  dissent,  or  to  emphasize  an  apparent  absurdity. 
The  interrogation  is  similarly  employed  to  express 
wonder  and  doubt.  When  so  used,  these  marks 
should  be  inclosed  in  brackets. 

The  distinction  to  be  observed  in  the  use  of  the 


282    Always  at  end  of  exclamatory  phrase 

exclamation  and  the  interrogation  will  be  plainly 
seen  in  the  following  example : 

Whither  shaU  I  turn?  Wretch  that  I  am!  To 
what  place  shall  I  betake  myself  ?  Shall  I  go  to 
the  Capitol  ?  Alas !  it  is  overflowed  with  the  blood 
of  my  kinsmen !  Or  shall  I  return  to  my  house  ? 
Yet  there  I  behold  my  brother,  plunged  in  misery, 
weeping,  and  despairing ! 

The  clauses  framed  to  elicit  answers  are  the  only 
ones  that  need  interrogations ;  all  those  that  are 
purely  exclamatory,  and  express  outbursts  of  feel- 
ing, are  the  ones  requiring  the  exclamation-points. 
The  proper  position  of  the  exclamation  is  some- 
times a  question  of  doubt,  but  it  should  go  at  the 
end  of  the  exclamatory  phrase  or  address,  which 
may  be  at  the  beginning,  in  the  middle,  or  at  the 
end  of  the  sentence. 

Alas  for  his  family ! 

Alas !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed  ? 

Alas,  my  noble  boy !  that  thou  shouldst  die ! 

Charge.  Chester,  charge ! 

Give  me  liberty,  or  give  me  death ! 

Daughter  of  Faith !  awake !  arise ! 

In  the  first,  fourth,  and  fifth  examples  the  out- 
burst of  feeling  is  without  break,  and  the  exclama- 
tion should  be  at  the  end  of  the  sentence ;  in  all 
the  other  examples,  where  this  outburst  of  feeling 


Uses  of  the  apostrophe  283 

is  broken,  the  exclamation  should  be  put  next  to 
the  exclamatory  phrase. 

It  is  rated  an  error  to  put  an  exclamation  after 
every  vocative  O. 

0  thou  invisible  spirit  of  wine !  if  thou  hast  no 
name  to  be  known  by,  let  us  call  thee  devil. 

Tremble,  0  man !  whosoever  thou  art. 

Oh,  indeed !        Oh,  yes !         0  John ! 

The  exclamation-point,  properly  used,  gives  force 
and  point  to  language ;  improperly  and  profusely 
used,  it  degrades  intended  pathos  and  makes  bom- 
bast. The  Book  of  Job  and  the  Psalms  show  that 
this  point  is  most  effective  when  sparingly  used. 

The  exclamation-point  is  sometimes  used  by  job- 
printers  at  the  end  of  displayed  lines,  for  no  other 
reason  than  its  convenience  in  filling  up  an  other- 
wise short  line.  This  is  a  practice  not  to  be  com- 
mended ;  put  spaces  between  the  letters  or  let  the 
line  remain  short. 

THE  APOSTROPHE 

The  apostrophe,  most  used  as  a  sign  to  mark     • 
the  possessive  case,  as  in  the  word  John's,  is 
also  used  to  show  the  contraction  of  words  and 
the  omission  of  letters,  as  in  tho'  for  though,  Ja's 
for  James,  and  the  clippings  of  words  in  dialect. 
It  is  also  used  in  single  and  double  form  to  mark 
the  close  of  a  quotation.     (See  Quotation-marks.) 


284  When  used  with  possessive 

The  apostrophe  for  the  possessive  case  should  be 
attached  to  nouns  only,  and  never  be  added  to  pro- 
nouns like  his  or  hers,  ours  or  theirs. 

For  nouns  in  the  singular  number  and  nouns  in 
the  plural  that  end  in  any  letter  but  s,  the  apos- 
trophe must  precede  the  B,  as  in 

president's  house     dog's  kennel      man's  hat 
men's  meeting          child's  shoes      children's  room 

For  all  nouns  in  the  plural  number  that  end  in  s, 
the  apostrophe  must  follow  this  s,  as  in  boys'  games, 
horses'  harness. 

For  nouns  in  the  singular  number  that  end  in  s, 
the  possessive  must  be  formed  by  adding  the  'B,  as 
in  James's  book. 

This  rule  about  the  nouns  ending  in  B  is  not  uni- 
versally accepted,  for  the  addition  of  another  s 
disagreeably  prolongs  the  hissing  sound  of  the  B  in 

Moses's  hat  James's  son 

Francis's  style  The  princess's  birthday 

When  the  sound  of  a  second  s  is  given  distinctly  in 
correct  pronunciation  always  insert  this  second  s. 
When  it  is  made  silent  in  speech,  as  in  the  phrase 
for  conscience'  sake,  in  which  the  apostrophe  is 
retained  to  show  the  possessive  case,  the  s  may  be 
omitted  in  print. 

Harrison's  Landing  and  Garrison's  Ferry  need 
the  possessive  's,  but  when  Landing  and  Ferry  are 
not  added,  and  the  places  are  written  as  Harrisons 
or  Garrisons,  omit  the  apostrophe. 


Apostrophes  not  good  for  some  plurals    285 

The  apostrophe  indicates  the  omission  of  letters 
in  dialect,  in  familiar  dialogue,  and  in  poetry,  as  in 

I  '11  for  I  will  does  n't  for  does  not 

I  've  for  I  have  't  was  for  it  was 

'em  for  them  ne'er  for  never 

When  two  words  are  practically  made  into  one  syl- 
lable a  thin  space  may  be  put  before  the  apostrophe, 
as  in  I  've,  I  '11.  The  phrases  don't,  can't,  won't,  and 
shan't  are  exceptions,  and  are  consolidated.  There 
are  many  cases  in  which  a  separating  space  is  needed 
to  make  more  apparent  the  difference  between  the 
possessive  s  and  the  contraction  of  is,  as  in 

Where  truth  's  unknown  and  honor  's  dead. 

Figures  expressing  dates  are  sometimes  abbrevi- 
ated, as  in 

The  spirit  of  '76  The  Argonauts  of  '49 

These  are  slipshod  forms  of  expression ;  the  omit- 
ted figures  of  the  dates  would  present  a  neater  ap- 
pearance than  the  apostrophes. 

The  apostrophe  is  sometimes  written  in  copy  to 
make  a  plural  for  letters  and  figures,  as  in 

Mind  your  p's  and  q's. 

Cross  your  t's  and  dot  your  i's. 

Make  T's  and  3's  more  distinct. 

The  apostrophe  is  not  a  proper  mark  for  the  expres- 
sion of  plurality.  Its  use  in  print  for  this  purpose  is 
but  the  repetition  of  an  indefensible  colloquialism. 


286    Different  applications  of  the  hyphen 

Copy  so  written  must  be  followed,  but  the  meaning 
would  be  clear  without  the  apostrophe  and  final  B. 
The  apostrophe  was  lavishly  used  by  poets  of  a 
bygone  period  to  suppress  the  sound  of  e  and  to 
shorten  the  last  syllable  of  participles  ending  in  ed. 

Dropp'd  from  her  nerveless  grasp  the  shatter'd  spear, 
Clos'd  her  bright  eye,  and  curb'd  her  high  career ; 
Hope  for  a  season  bade  the  world  farewell, 
And  Freedom  shriek'd  as  Kosciusko  fell. 

This  use  of  the  apostrophe  has  been  abandoned. 
It  is  supposed  rightly  that  every  reader  does  not 
need  the  apostrophe  as  a  guide  to  correct  pronun- 
ciation, but  the  practice  is  still  maintained  of  using 
the  grave  e  for  the  last  syllable  of  past  tenses  and 
participles  of  verbs  when  that  syllable  should  be 
distinctly  pronounced. 

Hence,  loathed  Melancholy ! 

For  other  remarks  on  the  apostrophe,  showing 
where  it  may  be  properly  used  as  a  mark  of  con- 
traction, and  where  the  period  is  of  better  service, 
see  chapter  on  Abbreviations. 

THE   HYPHEN 

The  first  function  of  the  hyphen  is  to  mark 
the  division  of  a  too  long  word  at  the  end     • 
of  a  line,  but  it  serves  also  to  connect  com- 
pounded words,  as  in  round-shouldered.    It  is  also 
used  in  repetition  as  a  leader  line  to  connect  words 


The  function  of  the  brace  287 

or  figures  in  different  columns,  as  is  shown  in  the 
following  table : 

Weight  in  ounces  of  the  points  furnished  by  type-founders 
for  a  thousand-pound  font  of  roman  type 

9              .160 80  (  -  10 

; 40  ' 30         [      10 

: 30  !     -  -  -  -  10        —     40 

80  ? "lO 40 

The  period  is  more  in  favor  as  a  leader  line.  A 
new  school  of  typography  rejects  all  leader  lines. 
The  new  method  is  not  to  be  commended,  especially 
so  in  a  table  of  two  or  more  columns,  in  which  the 
figures  are  put  too  far  apart  from  the  words  or 
signs  that  they  are  intended  to  elucidate,  and  are 
brought  too  near  to  the  words  or  signs  in  another 
column  with  which  they  have  no  direct  relation. 

BRACES 

f~    Braces  cannot  be  regarded  as  marks  of 

•  punctuation,  but  they  were  largely  used 

•  by  printers  of  the  eighteenth  century  to 
L_     inclose  triple  lines  of  rime.     This  prac- 
tice is  no  longer  maintained ;  but  the  brace  is  still 
needed  in  law-work,  table-work,  and  general  job- 
work  to  inclose  two  or  more  lines  to  be  explained  by 
a  word  or  words  at  the  central  point  of  the  brace. 
They  are  furnished  by  type-founders  on  two-  and 
three-em  bodies  and  in  sections  of  rights,  centres, 


288  Eleven  points  are  sufficient 

and  lefts;  but  the  sectional  braces  do  not  agree 
with  the  solid  braces  in  form  or  color,  and  the  two 
kinds  should  never  be  used  together. 

SUMMARY 

A  Period  marks  the  end  of  a  sentence. 

A  Colon  is  at  the  transition  point  of  the  sentence.1 

A  Semicolon  separates  different  statements.2 

A  Comma  separates  clauses,  phrases,  and  particles. 

A  Dash  marks  abruptness  or  irregularity. 

An  Exclamation  marks  surprise. 

An  Interrogation  asks  a  question  for  answer. 

An  Apostrophe  marks  elisions  or  possessive  case. 

Quotation-marks  define  quoted  words. 

Parentheses  inclose  interpolations  in  the  sentence. 

Brackets  inclose  irregularities  in  the  sentence. 

Eleven  characters  should  be  quite  ample  to  make 
clear  the  expression  of  thought  in  print ;  but  the 
late  Francis  Hart  of  New  York  thought  otherwise, 
and  had  made  a  minute -mark  for  a  new  position 
to  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  comma  in  sentences 
with  many  consecutive  nouns  or  adjectives,  as  in 

Men/  women/  children/  horses/  and  cattle  were  drowned. 
He  was  strong/  bold/  tactful/  persevering,  yet  he  failed. 

The  innovation  was  not  approved.  The  need  of  a 
minor  point  to  separate  particles  in  a  compound 

1  It  serves  to  mark  an  equation  2  This  is  the  case  especially 
of  ideas,  equivalent  to  =  ( T I )  in  when  the  statements  are  in  the 
a  mathematical  equation.  nature  of  a  category. 


Rejection  of  points  in  title-pages       289 

nominative  or  an  involved  sentence  is  sometimes 
painfully  apparent ;  but  a  new  point  for  this  pur- 
pose would  not  lessen  but  increase  the  difficulties 
of  punctuation. 

The  only  new  point  or  sign  that  is  really  needed 
(and  that  could  not  be  misused)  is  a  sign  or  mark 
for  ditto  in  the  catalogue  matter  of  job-printers. 
The  inverted  commas  now  in  frequent  use  serve  the 
purpose  badly ;  they  are  out  of  true  line  and  mis- 
lead or  annoy  the  eye  when  they  appear  in  solid 
composition  between  words,  leaders,  or  figures. 
The  sign  a  used  by  all  penmen  is  preferable  to 
turned  commas  or  to  the  abbreviation  do. 


TITLE-PAGES  WITHOUT  POINTS 

Book  titles  are  now  set  without  points— a  fashion 
introduced  by  Pickering  of  London  about  1850. 
At  that  time  it  was  customary  to  make  one  large 
display  line  of  the  leading  words  of  the  title,  and  to 
put  a  comma  or  a  semicolon  at  its  end.  Condensed 
two -line  type,  then  an  admired  novelty  with  other 
printers,  was  preferred  for  lines  of  display.  To 
make  short  words  fill  the  line,  the  types  of  this 
condensed  letter  often  had  to  be  spaced,  with  the 
unavoidable  result  of  throwing  the  line  that  ended 
with  a  point  apparently  out  of  centre  and  making 
it  lopsided.  To  prevent  this  blemish  the  point  at 
the  end  of  the  leading  display  line  was  omitted,  as 
had  been  done  for  many  years  by  job-printers  in 


290       Points  may  be  unwisely  omitted 

the  display  lines  of  posters  and  handbills.  This 
rejection  of  the  useless  point  was  accepted  as  an 
improvement;  but  the  disciples  of  Pickering  and 
Whittingham,  not  content  with  omitting  points  at 
the  ends  of  display  lines,  rejected  them  in  all  lines, 
and  in  most  titles  to  their  benefit  typographically, 
but  in  some  to  the  confusion  of  sense.  When  one 
line,  or  even  two  or  three  adjacent  and  correlated 
lines,  in  a  title-page  constitute  a  distinct  member 
of  a  sentence,  a  point  is  not  required  at  the  end  of 
each  line.  A  change  of  size  and  style  in  the  types 
of  a  following  line,  and  the  intervening  blank,  are 
indications  enough  that  this  new  line  contains  a 
new  clause.  There  is  no  need  for  a  period  at  the  end 
of  a  line  like  Illustrated,  or  Second  Edition,  or  By 
John  Smith,  nor  for  a  colon  after  New  York  in  an 
imprint.  The  conditions  are  altered  when  abbrevia- 
tions have  to  be  used  to  specify  the  honorary  titles 
that  follow  the  name  of  the  author:  to  omit  the 
abbreviating  periods  makes  confusion.  When  the 
imprint  of  the  publisher  particularizes  two  or  more 
partners,  as  in  Marston,  Earl,  Searle,  &  Rivington, 
the  reader  cannot  know  whether  these  words  are 
or  are  not  the  names  of  two,  three,  or  four  persons 
unless  commas  have  been  inserted.  About  these 
niceties  the  compositor  is  never  consulted.  When 
he  is  directed  to  compose  a  title  without  any  points, 
he  must  do  as  he  is  told,  and  leave  the  responsibil- 
ity of  its  possible  confusion  of  meaning  with  the 
author  or  publisher  who  has  given  the  order. 


The  uselessness  of  double  pointing      291 

TWO   POINTS  TOGETHER 

The  doubling  of  points  should  be  avoided.  When 
an  abbreviation  precedes  a  colon,  as  in  the  particle 
viz :  the  period  may  be  omitted  ;  when  it  precedes  a 
comma,  the  period  is  often  inserted,  but  the  appear- 
ance of  the  line  is  damaged  and  the  sense  is  not 
bettered.  In  many  instances  the  period  should  be 
retained  and  the  comma  omitted,  as  in  this  line : 

He  was  there  at  6  p.m.  but  he  was  too  late. 

There  is  seldom  any  need  of  the  comma,  semicolon, 
or  colon  before  the  dash,  as  ,—  ;  —  :  — .  The 
dash  is  the  boldest  and  most  striking  of  the  minor 
points,  and  the  greater  should  carry  the  less.  The 
dash  after  minor  points  can  be  safely  used  only 
in  the  sentence  that  is  overstudded  with  commas, 
and  where  it  is  selected  as  the  equivalent  of  the 
parenthesis,  for  which  it  is  an  improper  substitute. 
A  comma  put  before  the  first  parenthesis  is  rarely 
needed ;  it  should  go  after  the  closing  parenthesis 
if  it  is  used  at  all.  When  any  complete  sentence  is 
inclosed  by  parentheses,  the  period  should  be  before 
the  last  parenthesis,  but  when  these  parentheses 
inclose  a  few  words  at  the  end  of  the  sentence,  the 
period  should  be  after  the  last  parenthesis. 

A  common  fault  in  double  pointing  is  putting 
a  full  point  before  an  apostrophe  and  the  posses- 
sive s,  as  in  Co.' a.  The  word  Company  may  be 
abbreviated  to  Co.  and  in  the  possessive  to  Go's 


292       Close  pointing  needed  in  law  work 

(although  this  should  be  tolerated  only  in  a  very 
narrow  measure),  but  Co.'s  is  superfluous. 

To  some  compositors  these  may  seem  needless 
niceties,  but  those  who  do  not  choose  to  observe 
them  in  composition  will  have  to  do  so  in  proof, 
and  to  learn  the  art  of  punctuation,  as  the  author 
of  an  old  printers'  grammar  has  wisely  remarked, 
"  by  dint  of  a  bodkin." 

In  the  composition  of  poetry  from  manuscript  the 
compositor  should  follow  the  copy.  The  cadence  of 
rhythmical  words  deceives  the  eye  as  well  as  the 
ear,  and  it  may  lead  an  inexpert  to  put  points  at  the 
ends  of  lines  or  in  other  places  where  they  seem  to 
be  but  are  not  needed.  As  a  rule,  the  poet  points 
his  writing  with  nicety,  and  that  compositor  is  un- 
wise who  alters  or  suggests  alteration. 

A  comparison  of  the  punctuation  of  early  and 
late  editions  of  English  classics  will  show  that  the 
tendency  of  modern  editors  is  to  a  more  sparing 
use  of  points.  The  precise  rules  of  older  times  are 
now  set  aside :  every  point  that  does  not  really  aid 
the  reader  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  subject 
is  properly  omitted. 

This  remark  does  not  apply  to  legal  documents, 
some  of  which  fairly  bristle  with  points.  There  are 
sentences  in  legal  pleadings  or  papers  that  seem 
to  defy  all  attempts  to  punctuate.  When  a  single 
sentence  contains  more  than  two  hundred  words 
which  are  amplifications  of  the  same  statement,  the 


The  true  function  of  points  293 

comma,  dash,  and  parenthesis  must  be  repeated 
so  frequently  that  they  lose  their  value,  and  the 
author  may  obscure  the  meaning  still  more  by  a 
reckless  use  of  semicolons  and  colons. 

The  punctuation  of  a  long  extract  from  another 
book,  or  of  a  letter  or  document,  should  never  be 
changed  without  special  order.  It  may  be  wrong, 
but  it  is  an  exhibit  of  the  style  of  the  writer  or  of 
his  time,  and  the  errors,  or  what  seem  to  be  errors, 
are  evidences  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  reprint. 

A  working  knowledge  of  punctuation  is  not  to  be 
acquired  merely  by  learning  rules  ;  the  understand- 
ing of  an  author's  meaning  should  be  the  earliest 
study.  Next  comes  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of 
grammar.  Careful  reading  of  standard  editions 
of  good  authors  is  always  helpful.  The  compositor 
should  make  his  own  rules,  but  he  cannot  do  this 
until  he  can  properly  discriminate  between  the 
different  parts  of  a  sentence.  The  great  object  of 
punctuation  is  to  make  clear  to  the  reader  the 
meaning  of  the  author.  Rules  are  of  value,  but 
the  unfolding  of  obscured  sense  is  the  object  of 
most  importance. 


19 


XVI 


PKOOF-EEADING 

)N  no  branch  of  printing  do  methods  and 
performance  differ  more  than  in  that  of 
proof-reading.  In  one  printing-house 
one  reader  and  his  copy-holder  may  read 
for  fifteen  compositors  who  are  engaged 
in  setting  type  by  hand  on  a  plain  reprint ;  in  an- 
other, that  reader  may  find  it  difficult  to  keep  up 
with  the  product  of  six  compositors  engaged  on  a 
troublesome  and  frequently  revised  and  corrected 
manuscript.  His  performance  is  controlled  by  the 
legibility  of  the  copy,  the  number  of  proofs,  the 
re-readings  of  repeatedly  corrected  author's  proofs, 
and  other  hindrances  caused  by  correspondence  and 
interviews  with  the  author  or  publisher.  To  these 
delays  may  be  added  the  time  lost  in  searching  or 
consulting  books  of  reference  or  authority  for  a 
verification  of  doubted  dates  and  names. 

294 


Variable  cost  of  proof-reading         295 

Ordinary  news  work,  for  the  most  part,  receives  but 
one  reading.  Sometimes  the  errors  marked  on  the 
first  proof  are  revised  on  another  proof,  but  this 
proof  is  not  always  re-read.  Sometimes  revising 
is  done  in  the  metal.  In  the  cheapest  forms  of  hur- 
ried auction-catalogue  printing  the  composition  is 
not  even  proved  on  paper :  the  copy-holder  reads 
aloud  from  the  copy  while  the  corrector  follows 
him,  reading  from  the  type  on  the  galley  and  cor- 
recting, as  he  proceeds,  the  grossest  errors  only. 
Reading  so  done  is  unavoidably  imperfect,  but  the 
scamped  method  saves  time  and  largely  reduces 
cost.  This  is  one  way  to  produce  cheap  composition. 

Every  book  of  reference  or  authority  should  be 
read  on  three  or  more  proofs.  When  the  author's 
proof  has  to  be  read  by  many  experts,  as  is  usual, 
duplicates  are  taken  after  each  correction  of  the 
previous  proof,  and  each  duplicated  proof  receives 
an  entirely  new  reading.  The  cost  of  reading  and 
revising  with  this  care  is  large,  usually  about  one 
half  as  much  as  that  of  the  first  type-setting.  Some 
pages  will  cost  more  than  the  first  type-setting. 

The  slighted  catalogue  reading  which  costs  about 
one  tenth  that  of  type-setting,  and  the  careful  dic- 
tionary reading  which  costs  "more  than  first  type- 
setting, are  the  extremes  of  book-work.  The  cost 
of  the  reading  of  the  ordinaiy  novel  or  descriptive 
book  cannot  be  fixed  at  any  definite  point  between 
the  extremes  :  it  is  small  when  it  is  a  strict  reprint, 
large  when  it  is  in  manuscript  and  not  entirely  in 


296        System  needed  in  proof-reading 

the  full  control  of  the  printing-house.  It  must  be 
assumed,  however,  that  every  thoughtfully  treated 
book  calls  for  three  and  sometimes  four  readings,  of 
which  one  or  two  are  given  by  the  author  and  two 
invariably  by  the  printing-house.  The  manuscript 
that  has  been  hastily  prepared  always  should  have 
three  readings,  for  it  is  more  liable  to  error. 

THE  ROUTINE  OF  BOOK  READING 

It  is  unsafe  to  give  but  one  reading  to  a  book,  and 
it  is  equally  unsafe  to  trust  too  much  to  the  thor- 
oughness of  the  author's  reading.  The  two  read- 
ings of  the  printing-house  are  most  satisfactory 
when  they  have  been  done  by  different  readers. 
The  clean  proof  furnished  to  the  second  reader 
gives  him  a  much  better  opportunity  for  the  detec- 
tion of  errors,  and  he  is  or  should  be  better  quali- 
fied for  critical  reading. 

The  proof-reader  should  have  before  him  writ- 
ten instructions  defining  the  proper  width  and 
length  of  the  page,  the  size  and  face  of  the  type, 
the  thickness  of  leads,  the  types  to  be  selected  for 
extracts,  notes,  chapter  headings,  and  every  other 
peculiarity.  These  instructions  should  be  minute 
and  thorough.  Before  he  begins  the  reading  of 
a  new  galley,  or  of  the  signature  of  a  new  form, 
he  should  make  and  satisfactorily  answer  these 
queries  concerning  the  proper  connection  of  old 
with  new  matter : 


Proofs  should  be  properly  prepared      297 

Is  this  new  composition  the  immediate  continuation 
of  previous  matter  ?  Is  the  paging  of  the  book  or 
the  numbering  of  the  galley  consecutive  ?  Are  the 
running  titles,  chapter  headings,  blank  spaces  at 
the  heads  of  chapters,  type  for  titles,  and  the  more 
prominent  features  of  composition  according  to 
written  instructions  and  in  the  same  style  as  the 
preceding  pages?  Is  the  signature  at  the  foot  of 
the  first  page  correct  ? l 

If  the  proof  shows  that  the  new  matter  is  not 
the  proper  continuation  of  matter  preceding,  or  if 
there  is  any  important  departure  from  the  written 
instructions  or  from  the  style  of  preceding  pages, 
the  reader  should  at  once  notify  the  foreman,  who 
will  tell  him  whether  he  may  proceed  with  the  read- 
ing, or  whether  he  shall  order  the  faults  or  errors 
corrected  before  the  reading.  It  will  be  safer  to 
have  the  corrections  made  before  reading,  even  if 
this  added  work  causes  what  seems  to  be  a  waste 
of  time. 

The  first  proof  of  book  matter  is  usually  taken 
from  the  long  galley  on  which  the  compositor  puts 
his  composition.  The  proof  should  be  on  thin  and 
hard  paper  that  will  take  a  pen-mark.  The  print 
should  be  in  tint  more  pale  than  dark,  so  that  the 
reader  can  easily  discern  an  imperfect  type.  Cor- 
rections written  on  soft  paper  with  a  lead-pencil 

i  A  book  or  pamphlet  form  before  the  page  reading.    It  is  a 

of  more  than  one  sheet  should  mistake  to  read  matter  that  has 

have  a  proper  signature  in  the  not  been  fully  prepared,  for  one 

place  directed  by  the  publisher  neglect  leads  to  another. 


298        Reading  by  copy  and  collating 

are  always  unsatisfactory  and  may  be  misleading. 
No  attempt  should  be  made  to  read  a  proof  that 
is  too  pale  or  that  is  over-inked,  or  with  margins  too 
scant  for  the  marking  of  corrections.  Corrections 
should  be  made  in  ink,  but  when  the  second  reader 
follows  the  first  on  the  same  proof  he  should  use 
ink  of  different  color. 

Preferably,  the  reading  should  be  done  aloud  by 
the  copy-holder,  and  not  from  the  proof  by  the 
reader.  The  first  reader  marks  all  the  errors  made 
by  the  compositor  in  spelling,  division,  italic,  points, 
and  capitals,  and  every  deviation  from  the  copy  or 
from  the  office  standard  of  style.  "  Outs,"  or  omis- 
sions from  copy,  are  detected  by  means  of  the  trained 
copy-holder  who  reads  aloud  from  the  manuscript 
while  the  eye  of  the  reader  follows  every  spoken 
word  as  it  should  appear  in  the  proof.  When 
proper  names  and.  foreign  or  unusual  words  are 
met,  the  copy-holder  should  spell  them  out  letter 
by  letter.  This  tedious  and  painstaking  process 
must  be  observed  to  make  sure  of  absolute  accu- 
racy. Some  readers  dispense  with  a  copy-holder, 
and  collate  the  proof  with  the  copy  by  the  tedious 
comparison  of  word  for  word  and  line  for  line. 
Collating  is  a  slower  and  more  expensive  method, 
but  it  should  be  more  accurate  than  the  commoner 
method  of  depending  on  the  words  spoken  by  the 
copy-holder,  especially  when  the  copy-holder  has 
not  been  fully  trained. 

The  time  to  be  spent  and  the  care  to  be  given 


When  correction  is  permissible        299 

to  a  piece  of  reading, must  be  determined  by  its 
importance.  Ordinary  composition  should  be  made 
correct  to  copy  with  reasonable  despatch,  but  writ- 
ings of  value  should  be  read  thoughtfully,  with  a 
view  to  the  discovery  of  faults  more  serious  than 
those  of  spelling  or  punctuation. 

When  the  reader  meets  with  an  unmistakable 
fault  made  by  the  writer  through  lapse  of  memory 
or  by  negligence,  he  should  correct  it.  He  does  so, 
however,  at  some  peril.  He  must  know  and  not 
suspect  it  to  be  an  error,  and  must  be  prepared  to 
defend  his  correction,  not  by  his  own  belief,  but 
by  unquestionable  authority.  Whenever  he  feels 
obliged  to  query  a  change  in  spelling  or  in  state- 
ment, he  must  note  this  change  on  the  author's 
proof.  In  every  writing  of  importance  the  reader 
should  query  faulty  construction,  bad  metaphor, 
inconsistent  statement,  the  misuse  of  a  word,  and 
other  errors  of  similar  character :  but  in  no  case 
should  he  correct  these  apparent  faults  when  the 
author  will  revise  what  he  has  read ;  he  must  stop 
with  the  query.  The  spelling,  capitals,  italicizing, 
and  pointing  of  a  systematic  author  should  not  be 
changed.  If  these  features  of  correct  composition 
are  not  consistently  maintained  in  the  copy,  the 
reader  should  try  to  make  them  correct  accord- 
ing to  what  he  believes  is  the  author's  neglected 
standard. 

When  copy  has  been  negligently  written  by  an 
undisciplined  writer  who  cannot  revise  the  reading, 


300  First  revision  of  the  proof 

the  reader  should  correct  the  grosser  errors  accord- 
ing to  the  standard  of  the  editor  or  of  the  office,  as 
he  may  be  directed.  But  they  must  be  indefensible 
errors.  Bad  spelling  or  grammar  obviously  made 
through  ignorance  or  carelessness  must  always  be 
corrected,  but  this  license  will  not  apply  to  dialect, 
or  to  quotations  intended  to  be  literally  exact. 

Strange  proper  names,  of  places  or  people,  of  his- 
tory or  fiction,  should  be  verified  by  reference  to  the 
office  dictionary.  The  reader  is  always  adjudged 
in  fault  if  he  passes  any  misspelled  word  that  can 
be  rightly  spelled.  The  same  observation  will  apply 
to  quotations  from  the  Bible,  hackneyed  proverbs, 
phrases  in  foreign  languages,  and  any  of  the  scien- 
tific words  of  dictionaries. 

While  it  is  desirable  to  have  accurate  workman- 
ship, the  reader  should  not  forget  that  it  is  his 
first  duty  to  correct,  and  not  to  edit.  He  must  not 
spend  unnecessary  time  in  consulting  reference 
books  to  make  up  the  deficiencies  of  a  careless 
writer.  Nor  should  he  annoy  the  author  with  any 
emendations  that  savor  of  pedantic  nicety. 

When  the  first  proof  has  been  corrected,  a  new 
proof  of  the  matter  so  corrected  is  taken,  which  is 
called  the  first  revise.  In  most  printing-houses  the 
reviser  is  the  copy-holder,  who  collates  the  marked 
proof  with  the  first  revise,  and  makes  sure  that  no 
correction  has  been  overlooked.  When  a  correc- 
tion in  first  proof  has  compelled  the  overrunning 
of  two  or  more  lines,  the  reviser  should  re-read 


Two  proofs  for  the  author  301 

from  dictation  the  entire  paragraph.  If  any  errors 
in  first  proof  have  been  uncorrected,  or  if  any  new 
errors  have  been  made  in  this  first  correction,  they 
are  re-marked  on  the  revise  and  sent  back  to  the 
compositor  for  re-correction.  The  proof  to  go  to 
the  author  should  be  correct  to  copy  in  all  its 
features,  and  have  no  marks  on  it  but  the  queries 
made  by  the  proof-reader,  which  should  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  first  proof  to  the  author's  proof. 

In  some  book-houses  the  corrected  matter  is  not 
sent  to  the  author  in  the  shape  of  a  galley  proof, 
but  is  made  up  in  pages  of  the  prescribed  form. 
Proofs  in  pages  are  more  readily  handled  by  the 
author  and  offer  him  a  generous  margin  for  correc- 
tions ;  but  page  proofs  seriously  add  to  the  expense 
of  the  work  when  the  author  makes  much  altera- 
tion, for  frequent  alterations  will  compel  an  over- 
running and  remaking-up  of  many  pages.  Pages 
of  type  that  have  been  tied  up  and  piled  on  letter- 
boards  are  more  liable  to  be  pied,  or  to  suffer  from 
dropped  letters  at  the  endings  of  lines,  and  conse- 
quently require  additional  care  in  reading.  It  is 
a  commoner  practice  to  put  the  first  author's  proof 
in  the  form  of  a  galley  slip,  and  it  is  to  his  bene- 
fit to  read  on  the  galley,  for  his  alterations  in  the 
proof  are  more  quickly  and  cheaply  made  by  the 
compositor  on  the  galley  than  in  the  page. 

Two  proofs  are  usually  sent  to  the  author.  On 
the  one  returned  the  author  marks  the  changes  he 
desires,  and  he  retains  the  other  for  possible  future 


302          Press  proof  or  foundry  proof 

reference  and  as  a  reminder  of  every  correction  he 
ordered.  All  the  corrections  desired  by  the  author 
should  be  made  by  him  upon  his  first  proof.  To 
postpone  any  correction  for  the  final  proof  in  page 
form  causes  delay  and  greater  added  expense,  with 
liability  to  new  errors  which  are  harder  to  correct 
on  the  final  than  on  the  first  proof. 

When  the  author's  revise  has  been  returned  as 
corrected,  the  matter  may  be  made  up  into  pages ; 
but  if  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  author 
contemplates  other  serious  changes,  it  is  safer  to 
send  the  next  proof  from  galley.  Matter  should 
not  be  made  up  in  pages  when  there  is  a  proba- 
bility that  these  pages  will  be  overrun,  and  that 
the  overrunning  will  be  followed  by  a  new  make- 
up and  greater  delay. 

The  author's  first  proof,  when  corrected,  should 
always  be  returned  to  him  with  the  second  proof, 
whicli  he  should  consider  as  his  revise  for  the  veri- 
fication of  previous  corrections,  and  for  the  making 
of  trivial  corrections  only.  But  if  many  correc- 
tions are  made  by  the  author  on  this  second  proof, 
these  corrections,  when  made,  should  be  followed 
by  a  third  proof  to  the  author.  It  is  unsafe  to 
send  to  press  or  to  foundry  any  page  that  has  not 
been  pronounced  entirely  correct  by  the  author. 

The  last  proof  certified  as  correct  by  the  author 
is  the  proof  known  in  the  printing-house  as  the 
foundry  proof  or  the  press  proof.  It  is  always 
read  by  the  second  reader  for  the  discovery  and 


Last  revision  of  the  proof  303 

correction  of  minor  errors  that  may  not  have  been 
discerned  by  the  first  reader  and  the  author.  To 
do  this  properly  the  copy  and  all  previous  proofs 
should  be  at  the  second  reader's  hand.  It  is  a  mis- 
take for  the  author,  when  he  returns  the  last  proof, 
to  keep  back  the  copy  and  all  the  previous  proofs, 
for  they  usually  contain  memoranda  on  the  margins 
that  are  of  importance  in  the  final  reading.  All 
errors  should  have  been  corrected  and  all  queries 
answered  on  the  second  or  final  proof  of  the  au- 
thor ;  but  if  any  new  question  arises  that  can  be 
answered  by  the  author  only,  that  question  should 
at  once  be  sent  to  him  for  his  decision. 

Two  readers  are  desirable  for  accuracy,  but  they 
may  not  work  in  concord.  The  first  reader,  sup- 
posed to  be  properly  qualified,  should  determine 
the  typographic  style,  and  that  style  should  not  be 
changed  by  the  second  reader  unless  the  change  is 
of  real  importance.  To  remodel  the  punctuation  or 
the  divisions  of  the  first  reader  in  trivial  niceties  is 
always  a  great  waste  of  time.  Not  one  reader  in  a 
thousand  may  recognize  that  the  changes  ordered 
by  the  second  reader  are  betterments.  If  the  sec- 
ond reader  thinks  it  is  necessary  to  make  serious 
changes,  he  should  submit  the  changes  proposed  to 
the  foreman  or  manager  for  his  decision. 

The  author  should  see  and  approve  all  the  minor 
changes  made  by  the  last  reader  on  the  foundry 
proof  before  he  returns  it  as  approved.  As  a  rule, 
he  does  not  see  them,  because  each  additional  proof 


304       Corrections  in  electrotype  plates 

tempts  the  author  to  indulge  in  petty  correction, 
which  delays  the  work  and  needlessly  increases  his 
bill  of  expense. 

To  keep  different  kinds  of  proof  distinguishable, 
in  good  order,  and  always  accessible  requires  many 
proof -hooks  and  pigeonholes  and  constant  over- 
sight. Each  proof  should  be  properly  marked  as 
First  office  or  Second  office,  First  author's  or  Foundry, 
and  should  be  dated  with  a  rubber  stamp  and  have 
the  written  initials  of  the  reader.  A  perceptible 
distinction  between  the  two  kinds  of  proof  can  be 
made  by  using  white  paper  for  the  author's  proof 
and  buff  or  pale  yellow  for  the  office  proof.  Dated 
and  signed  proofs  are  of  value  for  their  dates  and 
as  the  attests  of  individual  responsibility.  At  the 
end  of  the  reading  on  each  book,  proof  should  be 
put  in  order,  and  packed  and  labelled  so  that  it  can 
be  examined  readily.  All  proofs  should  be  kept 
for  one  year  after  the  publication  of  the  work. 

If  a  serious  error  be  found  after  the  page  has 
been  cast,  the  fault  may  be  remedied  by  resetting 
and  electrotyping  the  faulty  spot  for  a  patching  of 
the  plate.  But  corrections  so  made  are  expensive ; 
they  weaken  the  plate,  and  are  a  great  hindrance  to 
good  presswork.  Trivial  corrections  do  more  harm 
than  good.  They  increase  the  liability  to  new  er- 
rors ;  for  perfect  types  near  the  faulty  ones  may 
be  bruised  in  the  process  of  correction.  Patched 
plates,  always  disliked  by  pressmen,  are  the  cause 
of  much  bad  presswork.  For  changes  that  call 


Limits  to  a  proof-reader's  duty        305 

for  many  patchings  it  is  better  to  reset  and  make 
a  new  plate  than  to  patch  the  old  one. 

The  proof-reader  is  asked  to  serve  two  masters. 
His  employer  rightfully  asks  for  a  fair  day's  work 
as  well  as  exact  reading,  for  it  is  the  printer  more 
than  the  author  who  is  held  responsible  \>y  the  book 
reviewer  for  the  book's  faults  of  typographic  style, 
and  sometimes  for  its  inconsistencies  of  statement. 
But  there  are  fastidious  authors  who  insist  upon 
the  strictest  adherence  to  their  imperfect  copy,  and 
refuse  to  consider  queries  made  in  their  own  inter- 
est. To  query  or  correct  is  to  offend  these  authors ; 
to  leave  a  possible  error  unqueried  or  unconnected 
is  to  invite  plain  censure  for  neglect  or  ignorance. 
There  are  other  authors  who  ask,  as  a  matter  of 
right,  that  the  proof-reader  verify  proper  names, 
dates,  and  all  unusual  words,  and  that  he  main- 
tain consistency  of  statement  as  well  as  of  style. 
Some  go  so  far  as  to  ask  for  the  verification  of  all 
quotations  from  standard  text-books.  They  hold 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  proof-reader  to  correct  all 
errors.  This  last  request,  based  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  proof-reader  has  within  easy  reach 
a  library  of  reference  books,  and  that  he  can  be 
allowed  time  to  consult  them,  is  often  impossible. 
Every  printer  who  desires  to  preserve  a  reputation 
for  accuracy  will  be  generous  in  his  allowance  of 
time  for  a  careful  reading,  but  he  has  to  keep  the 
reading  within  a  limit  of  cost.  How  much  or  how 
little  time  can  be  allowed  for  the  verification  of 


306        When  suggestions  are  permissible 

statements  must  be  determined  by  each  house  for 
itself.  The  cost  of  searches  is  never  considered  in 
any  estimate  of  composition,  and  must  be  an  added 
expense.  When  the  publisher  consents  to  pay  for 
the  extra  work,  the  reader  should  try  to  verify  all 
proper  names,  dates,  and  foreign  words  by  consult- 
ing authorities.  Quotations  from  the  Bible  need 
special  attention,  for  they  are  usually  inexact  when 
written  from  memory.  When  the  reader  has  a  rea- 
sonable doubt  of  the  exactness  of  any  part  of  the 
copy,  whether  in  date,  spelling,  or  quotation,  and 
has  not  the  time  or  the  authority  at  hand  to  solve 
that  doubt,  he  should  suggest  to  the  author  that  its 
verification  seems  desirable.  With  that  query  his 
responsibility  for  the  error  threatened  should  end. 
Suggestions  to  the  author  concerning  the  use  of 
an  ambiguous  or  improper  word x  or  the  faulty  con- 
struction of  a  sentence  are  often  needed,  but  the 
reader  makes  them  at  a  risk.  He  should  be  rea- 
sonably sure  that  the  suggestion  will  be  as  kindly 
received  as  it  is  intended.  In  some  printing-houses 
the  reader  is  ordered  by  the  master  printer  never 
to  pass  a  split  infinitive,  as  in  this  sentence : 

The  dog  had  been  trained  at  a  given  signal  to 
immediately  raise  himself  on  his  hind  legs. 

l  Reliable  has  been  condemned  in  -able.     In  this  book  he  shows 

by  some  English  critics  as  an  un-  that  the  word  has  the  sanction 

grammatical  Americanism,  but  of  several  English   writers    of 

its  propriety  has  been  defended  authority.   The  word  should  not 

by  Dr.  Fitzedward  Hall  in  his  be  queried  by  the  proof-reader 

treatise  On  English  Adjectives  when  he  finds  it  in  copy. 


Queries  should  be  intelligible          307 

The  infinitive  to  raise  must  be  kept  together,  and 
immediately  may  be  put  before  or  after  the  verb, 
as  euphony  dictates.  The  change  is  needed  for  good 
English ;  but  there  are  writings  in  which  the  author 
purposely  splits  the  infinitive  to  show  an  ordinary 
colloquialism.  The  proof-reader  must  judge  whe- 
ther it  is  or  is  not  safe  to  correct  without  the  query. 
With  regard  to  the  loose  phrasing  of  the  undisci- 
plined writer,  as  in  "  a  gold  lady's  watch,"  he  need 
not  hesitate  to  make  it  read  a  lady's  gold  watch. 

The  irregular  variations  made  by  some  writers 
in  their  reproductions  of  colloquial  language  often 
make  the  proof-reader  pause.  Don't  is  preferred 
over  does  n't,  but  if  the  author  persistently  uses 
does  n't,  do  not  alter  his  spelling.  Don't,  shan't, 
won't,  can't,  and  words  of  like  form  are  usually 
presented  as  is  here  done,  by  putting  the  apostrophe 
in  the  place  of  the  cancelled  letters ;  but  when  the 
word  is  is  clipped,  and  is  presented  as>'s  in  he  's 
or  it  'a,  it  is  better  practice  to  put  a  thin  space 
before  the  apostrophe.  (See  Abbreviations.) 

Authors  may  be  annoyed  by  the  unmeaningness 
of  the  queries  made  by  some  proof-readers.  To 
underscore  a  word  or  phrase  in  proof  and  to  write 
Qu.  or  ?  in  the  margin  does  not  specify  the  nature 
of  the  suspected  error,  which  may  be  in  the  spell- 
ing of  the  word,  in  its  unfitness,  or  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  full  sentence.  The  reader  should  write 
out  in  full  the  change  that  he  suggests,  or  should 
specify  the  authority  at  variance  with  a  doubtful 


308      Proofs  should  always  be  accessible 

statement.  Without  this  specification  the  query  is 
entirely  unmeaning.  The  author  may  not  perceive 
the  error  which  the  reader  thinks  needs  change. 

A  query  should  be  headed  Query  to  author  or 
Query  to  editor.  When  this  has  not  been  done,  the 
editor  or  author  may  regard  it  as  the  query  of  one 
reader  to  another  reader  in  the  same  house,  and 
may  give  it  no  attention. 

When  a  plain  query  has  not  been  answered,  it 
is  always  safe  to  follow  copy.  A  gross  error  in 
copy  may  be  safely  corrected  when  the  writer  can- 
not see  the  last  proof  and  when  the  printing-house 
will  be  held  responsible  for  the  error ;  otherwise  its 
correction  is  a  risk.  It  cannot  be  too  frequently 
impressed  upon  the  author  that  the  proof-reader  is 
not  an  editor.  It  is  the  wiser  and  safer  course  for 
the  proof-reader  to  query  all  supposed  errors  by 
calling  the  attention  of  the  writer  to  every  appa- 
rent fault  in  date  or  grammar,  or  to  statements 
that  seem  to  be  contradictory  on  different  pages 
of  the  same  book.  It  is  an  unpleasant  duty,  but 
it  can  be  done  with  tact  and  discretion. 

Readers  should  always  keep  by  them  in  good 
order  a  complete  file  of  all  work  in  progress,  so  that 
it  can  be  referred  to  readily.  First  proof,  second 
proof,  author's  proof,  and  author's  revise  should  be 
kept  on  separate  hooks  or  in  pigeonholes,  and  be 
properly  marked  with  the  initials  of  the  reader. 

The  author's  proof  and  revise  should  have  on 
each  sheet  the  office  stamp  and  the  date.  Readers 


Qualifications  needed  in  reading       309 

should  keep  a  book  containing  the  name  and  the 
address  of  all  persons  to  whom  proof  is  to  be  sent. 
They  should  make  themselves  familiar  with  post- 
office  laws,  and  make  up  the  packages  to  be  sent 
by  mail  in  such  a  manner  that  the  office  will  not 
suffer  from  delay  or  needless  expense  in  postage. 
The  readers  should  try  to  arrange  all  their  work 
so  that  proofs  can  be  despatched  before  the  closing 
of  the  last  mail.  The  foreman  should  see  that  the 
readers  are  provided  with  postage-stamps  and  en- 
velopes of  graduated  sizes,  and  that  all  packages 
are  neatly  made  up  and  properly  addressed. 

Every  paragraph  containing  an  alteration  that 
compels  one  or  more  overruns  should  be  re-read 
by  a  copy -holder  in  the  same  manner  that  has  to 
be  observed  for  the  first  proof.  When  this  cannot 
be  done  it  should  be  collated  carefully,  word  for 
word,  to  the  end  of  the  paragraph.  The  hurried  or 
inconsiderate  revision  of  only  the  lines  that  have 
been  marked  for  alteration  is  the  commonest  cause 
of  the  most  disgracef  ul  errors  in  a  book. 

QUALIFICATIONS  NEEDED   IN  READING 

Application  is  frequently  made  to  printing-houses 
by  educated  men  and  women,  and  sometimes  by 
those  who  are  not  properly  educated,  for  employ- 
ment as  proof-readers.  Too  often  the  applicant  sup- 
poses that  any  person  who  knows  how  to  spell  and 
punctuate  is  sufficiently  qualified.  This  is  a  great 
20 


310      Headers  need  training  for  the  work 

mistake.  If  the  applicant  is  successful  in  securing 
employment,  which  is  rare,  he  will  discover  that  his 
knowledge  of  spelling  and  punctuation  is  insuffi- 
cient even  for  the  simplest  forms  of  commercial 
printing.  To  be  a  useful  reader  one  should  know 
types  by  their  names  and  understand  the  technical 
terms  and  the  methods  of  a  printing-house.  There 
is  also  much  to  be  learned  in  the  routine  of  proof- 
reading which  is  acquired  most  thoroughly  by  the 
young  compositor  or  copy-holder.  There  are  a  few 
excellent  readers  who  have  not  been  printers  or 
copy-holders,  but  the  readers  of  most  utility  are 
those  who  have  set  type  or  held  copy  from  their 
youth.  A  large  book-house  of  New  York  reports 
that  at  different  times  it  had  occasion  to  engage 
many  men  as  proof-readers  who  were  graduates  of 
colleges  and,  by  virtue  of  their  education,  posses- 
sors of  a  good  knowledge  of  English  as  well  as  of 
the  classics.  A  few  of  these  graduates  ultimately 
became  useful  readers,  but  the  majority  did  not. 
They  could  not  or  did  not  choose  to  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  the  petty  details  and  technicalities 
of  the  trade  that  is  indispensable.  Every  master 
printer  who  has  employed  manjr  readers  will  agree 
with  the  writer  in  the  opinion  that  the  average 
master  of  arts  is  not  so  successful  in  detecting  de- 
viations from  copy  and  in  maintaining  uniformity 
of  typographic  style  as  a  regularly  trained  reader. 
The  extract  that  follows  is  the  testimony  of  a 
British  printer. 


Wrong  notions  about  reading         311 

As  a  specimen  of  the  value,  relatively,  of  scholar- 
ship and  unschooled  but  practical  lynx-eyed  ob- 
servation, I  may  mention  a  fact  which  came  under 
my  own  notice  some  few  years  back.  A  new  edi- 
tion of  a  well  known  lexicon  was  brought  out  by 
a  publisher  in  the  Row,  the  editorship  being  con- 
fided to  a  scholar  of  high  reputation,  at  an  ex- 
pense, it  was  said,  of  five  guineas  per  sheet.  The 
proofs  returned  by  him  to  the  printer,  during  up- 
wards of  four  months,  contained  an  average  of 
sixteen  corrections  on  each  sheet.  Before  going  to 
press  they  were  again  carefully  read  by  a  young 
fellow  from  the  north  of  the  island,  who  possessed 
but  a  moderate  reading  acquaintance  with  the  lan- 
guage, who  spent  a  day-and-a-half  over  each  sheet, 
at  a  cost  to  the  printer  of  nine  or  ten  shillings,  and 
made  additional  corrections,  averaging  through  the 
whole  period  fifty-three  per  sheet ! 1 

For  the  proof-reading  of  books  a  knowledge  of  the 
classics  and  modern  languages  is  always  of  value, 
but  much  of  the  work  that  has  to  be  done  by  the 
reader  is  most  distasteful  drudgery.  The  scholarly 
applicant  for  a  proof-reader's  position  who  goes 
for  the  first  time  to  the  reader's  desk  in  the  belief 
that  he  can  spend  much  time  in  a  critical  exami- 
nation of  an  author's  style,  with  its  possible  chances 
for  the  discovery  of  errors  in  copy  as  well  as  in 
the  proof  which  will  redound  vastly  to  his  credit, 
is  sorely  disappointed  when  he  is  asked  to  read  a 
directory,  market  reports,  a  series  of  interest  tables, 

i  [C.  M.  Smith,]  The  Working-man's  Way  in  the  World,  p.  285. 


312       Reading  done  by  the  copy -holder 

or  documents  in  a  foreign  language  about  which  he 
knows  very  little.  For  poems  and  biographies  and 
the  commercial  printing  that  are  common  in  all 
book-houses  the  amateur  reader's  knowledge  of 
Latin,  Greek,  and  the  higher  mathematics  cannot 
be  put  to  practical  use.  Commercial  printing  is 
always  drudgery,  but  it  cannot  be  made  easy,  nor 
can  it  be  done  properly,  by  any  reader  who  cannot 
adapt  himself  to  his  situation  and  will  not  take  a 
proper  pride  in  the  faithful  following  of  his  copy. 
Proof-reading  must  not  be  done  mechanically  or 
perfunctorily.  The  reader's  wits  must  be  on  the 
alert  continually,  for  in  every  department  of  print- 
ing exists  some  liability  to  error  and  accident,  for 
which  the  reader  may  be  called  to  account. 

Even  the  reading  aloud  by  a  trained  copy-holder 
of  the  best  passages  of  a  good  author  is  a  torment 
when  that  reading  is  done  in  a  monotonous  drawl, 
as  is  usual,  without  any  pause,  break,  or  attempt 
at  emphasis.  To  insure  accuracy,  the  copy-holder 
is  required  to  call  out  every  paragraph,  mark  of 
punctuation,  and  italicized  word,  which  he  does  in 
a  singsong  voice,  clipping  the  names  of  the  points 
in  the  copy  after  the  following  fashion : 1 

i  The  extract  on  the  following  ligible  to  the  American  printer, 

pages  (taken  from  The  Working-  the  words  used  in  the  United 

man's  Way  in  the  World,  p.  288)  States  have  been  substituted  for 

is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  copy-  those  used  in  England,  and  the 

holder's  method  of  jumbling  the  technical  names  of  points  have 

words  of  the  copy  with  the  names  also  been  changed  to  agree  with 

of  the  points  and  breaks  in  that  the  American  method.    To  the 

copy.   To  make  the  matter  intel-  inexpert  bystander  who  listens, 


Heading  done  by  the  copy-holder       313 

[THE   ENUNCIATION  OF   THE  COPY-HOLDER] 

Par  quote  This  ruling  passion  two  ital  com  the 
most  enduring  of  all  the  passions  which  obtain  a 
mastery  over  the  mind  com  is  described  in  Pope's 
single  quote  Moral  Essays  close  single  thus  colon 
Par  double  and  single  quote  Odious  exclam  in 
woollen  exclam  pos  twould  a  saint  provoke  com 
close  single  were  the  last  words  that  poor  Narcissa 
spoke  sem  single  quote  no  exclam  let  a  charming 
chintz  and  Brussels  lace  wrap  my  cold  limbs  com 
and  shade  my  lifeless  face  colon  one  would  not 
com  sure  com  be  frightful  when  one  pos  s  dead 
com  dash  and  com  Betty  com  [Here  the  reader 
dips  his  pen  in  the  ink,  and  the  boy  takes  the  op- 
portunity to  blow  like  a  young  grampus  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  then  resumes :]  give  this  cheek  a  lit- 
tle red  period  close  single  and  double  line  of  points 
Par  double  and  single  quote  I  give  and  I  devise 
com  close  single  old  Euclio  said  com  and  sigh  pos 
d  com  single  quote  my  lands  and  tenements  to  Ned 
period  close  single  dash  single  again  your  money 
com  sir  inter  close  single  dash  single  again  my 
money  com  sir  colon  what  com  all  inter  why  com 
dash  if  I  must  com  close  single  then  wept  com 
single  quote  I  give  it  Paul  period  close  single 
single  again  the  manor  com  sir  inter  close  single 
dash  single  again  the  manor  exclam  hold  com  close 

the  words  of  the  copy-holder  are  is  no  better  vocal  method  for 
meaningless  jargon,  and  they  securing  accuracy.  A  careful 
are  not  easily  comprehended  by  collation  of  every  character  in 
the  amateur  proof-reader,  who  the  proof  with  every  character  in 
learns  the  copy-holder's  colloqui-  the  copy  (a  much  slower  method) 
alisms  with  reluctance  and  bad  is  the  only  alt«rnative.  For  the 
grace.  Silly  as  this  method  of  translation  of  this  seeming  gib- 
reading  proof  may  seem,  there  berish,  see  page  314. 


314       Compositors  not  qualified  readers 

single  he  cried  com  single  quote  not  that  com  dash 
I  cannot  part  with  that  exclam  close  single  dash 
and  died  period  close  double  dash  Epistle  one  1  two 
four  six  dash  two  six  naught  period 

"  This  ruling  passion,  the  most  enduring  of  all  the 
passions  which  obtain  a  mastery  over  the  mind,  is 
described  in  Pope's  '  Moral  Essays '  thus  : 

"  '  Odious !  in  woollen !  'twould  a  saint  provoke,' 
Were  the  last  words  that  poor  Narcissa  spoke ; 

*  No !  let  a  charming  chintz  and  Brussels  lace 
Wrap  my  cold  limbs,  and  shade  my  lifeless  face : 
One  would  not,  sure,  be  frightful  when  one's  dead, — 
And,  Betty,  give  this  cheek  a  little  red.' " 

"'I  give  and  I  devise,'  old  Euclio  said, 
And  sigh'd,  '  my  lands  and  tenements  to  Ned.'  - 

*  Your  money,  sir  ? '  — '  My  money,  sir :  what,  all  ? 
'  Why,  —  if  I  must,'  then  wept, '  I  give  it  Paul.' 

'  The  manor,  sir  ? '  — '  The  manor !  hold,'  he  cried, 
'  Not  that, —  I  cannot  part  with  that ! ' —  and  died." 

-  Epistle  1, 1.  246-260. 

It  does  not  follow  that  the  average  type-setter  is 
or  can  be  a  good  reader.  His  knowledge  of  names 
and  technicalities  is  not  half  enough.  If  he  has  not 
earned  an  expert's  reputation  for  clean  composition, 
as  has  been  proved  by  his  ability  to  decipher  imper- 
fect manuscript  and  to  point  and  capitalize  with 
propriety;  if  he  does  not  display  a  genuine  fond- 
ness for  books  by  the  knowledge  that  comes  from 
some  study  as  well  as  from  omnivorous  reading ;  if 
he  has  no  more  than  a  passable  acquaintance  with 


Accuracy  of  first  importance          315 

authors  and  books  and  men  of  history  and  fiction ; 
if  he  has  not  the  literary  instinct  which  leads  him 
to  value  books  for  mechanical  merit— he  cannot 
be  a  correct  reader  of  books.  It  is  a  great  risk  to 
trust  him  with  the  simplest  reading. 

The  reader  good  in  one  house  may  be  inefficient 
in  another,  for  the  requirements  of  printing-houses 
vary.  On  the  ordinary  daily  newspaper  the  broad 
knowledge  required  of  the  reader  is  the  knowledge 
of  to-day,  which  comes  from  present  observation 
more  than  from  a  study  of  books.  A  good  memory 
is  also  needed.  The  reader  who  can  recollect  the 
spelling  of  the  baptismal  names  of  public  men  who 
respectively  spell  their  names  Eead,  Reid,  Rhead, 
and  Reed  is  of  greater  value  to  his  employer  than 
the  scholarly  reader  who  can  read  Latin  and  Greek, 
but  who  rarely  has  occasion  to  use  that  knowledge, 
and  who  professes  some  contempt  for  much  of  the 
distasteful  work  on  which  he  must  be  engaged.  In 
the  composition  of  advertisements  and  general  job- 
work,  the  correct  taste  on  the  part  of  the  reader  that 
leads  him  to  mark  errors  of  display,  spacing,  and 
make-up  is  more  prized  by  the  employer  than  any 
kind  of  classical  information. 

Accuracy  is  always  of  first  importance,  but  the 
reader  or  book  reviewer,  as  well  as  the  author  or 
publisher,  may  want  more  than  this.  They  may 
assume  that  the  proof-reader  should  have  some- 
thing more  than  a  superficial  knowledge  of  men, 
books,  arts,  and  languages— enough  to  prevent  the 


316       Proof-reading  not  enviable  work 

author  from  stumbling  in  an  error.  The  correct 
spelling  of  a  foreign  phrase,  or  of  a  proper  name 
in  history  or  fiction,  adherence  to  obsolete  British 
spelling,1  and  the  accurate  placing  of  accents  in 
strange  languages,  are  supposed  to  be  as  much  a 
part  of  his  duty  as  the  correction  of  gross  faults  in 
English.  Few  readers  can  meet  this  expectation, 
for  they  are  not  allowed  the  time  to  deliberate  or 
to  consult  books  of  authority,  and  they  dare  not 
correct  a  fault  by  trusting  to  memory  only.  Sug- 
gestions to  the  author  can  be  wisely  made  only 
after  consulting  books  of  authority.  The  critical 
reading  desired  by  publisher  and  author  consumes 
much  time  and  costs  much  money.  When  the 
reader  is  compelled  at  every  paragraph  to  seek  au- 
thority to  verify  a  date  or  quotation,  or  the  true 
spelling  of  rarely  used  names,  he  does  little  work. 
He  could  probably  read  one  hundred  pages  of  a 
reprint  in  the  time  that  he  devotes  to  ten  pages  of 
a  manuscript  that  requires  constant  verification. 

The  proof-reader's  position  is  not  an  enviable 
one.     When  he  does  his  best  and  makes  his  book 

l  Writers  who  continue  to  use  low  the  spelling  of  Webster,  and 
the  older  forms  of  British  spell-  had  found  it  acceptable  else- 
ing  make  trouble  for  the  proof-  where.  "Webster!"  shrieked 
reader.  Some  years  ago  a  Rich-  the  angered  editor.  "Never  let 
mond  editor  sharply  rebuked  a  me  hear  that  name  as  an  author- 
new  proof-reader :"  Why  do  you  ity.  Webster  may  spell  to  suit 
strike  out  of  my  proof  the  u  in  a  Yankee  trader,  but  not  a  Vir- 
honour,  and  the  k  in  musick,  ginia  gentleman.  Be  pleased 
when  I  plainly  wrote  them  in  hereafter  to  follow  my  copy  and 
my  copy  ? "  The  reader  replied  Dr.  Johnson's  dictionary.  Let 
that  he  had  been  taught  to  fol-  us  hear  no  more  of  Webster." 


Writers  often  neglect  petty  details       317 

correct  he  has  done  no  more  than  his  duty.  He 
may  correct  ninety-nine  errors  out  of  a  hundred, 
but  if  he  misses  the  hundredth  he  may  be  sharply 
reproved  by  the  book  reviewer  for  that  negligence. 

Authors  often  send  to  the  printing-house  type- 
written copy  that  is  easily  readable,  but  that  has 
not  been  thoughtfully  corrected.  Proper  names  in 
foreign  languages  may  be  spelled  in  two  or  more 
ways;  capital  letters,  italic,  quotation-marks,  and 
abbreviations  may  be  written  in  without  system, 
apparently  with  small  concern  about  their  lack  of 
uniformity.  This  disregard  of  attention  to  trivial 
details  is  a  common  fault.  Exactness  in  spelling 
and  pronunciation  is  well  taught  in  all  our  high 
schools,  but  exactness  of  expression  in  writing  for 
the  press  is  not  taught  at  all.  It  is  the  belief  now, 
as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Moxon,  the  first  English 
writer  on  the  technics  of  printing,  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  printer  to  supplement  the  negligences 
of  the  writer. 

The  reader  of  the  printed  book  or  paper  knows 
little  of  these  irregularities.  Now  and  then  he  has 
an  inkling  of  them  when  the  editor  of  a  newspaper 
avenges  himself  on  a  testy  adversary  by  printing 
the  letter  of  the  angry  subscriber  exactly  as  it  was 
written,  with  faults  in  almost  every  line,  much  to  the 
amusement  of  the  reader,  and  to  the  mortification 
of  the  writer.  Careless  writing  is  so  common  that 
it  often  passes  unnoticed.  Every  one  who  chooses 
to  look  them  up  in  his  correspondence  (sometimes 


318      Danger  of  following  copy  literally 

in  the  writings  of  educated  men)  will  find  faults  of 
construction  as  well  as  of  orthography  that  would 
be  glaringly  offensive  if  repeated  in  print. 

A  broader  knowledge  of  the  frequency  of  faults 
in  writing  should  lead  to  a  better  appreciation  of  the 
services  of  the  proof-reader ;  but  this  knowledge  is 
rarely  acquired  out  of  a  printing-house.  The  undis- 
ciplined writer  who  believes  that  he  is  careful  and 
exact  often  resents  the  suggestion  that  he  can  be 
indebted  to  the  proof-reader  for  help  of  any  kind. 
The  too  rapid  and  over-confident  writer,  who  may 
have  been  provoked  by  too  many  queries  from  the 
reader  (for  there  are  amateurs  who  can  be  as  irri- 
tating as  mosquitos),  may  peremptorily  order  that 
his  copy  shall  be  followed  faithfully  in  every  partic- 
ular. Not  a  comma  nor  a  capital  must  be  changed. 
Writers  like  these  put  the  reader  in  an  unpleasant 
position.  To  query  a  supposed  error  is  an  offence 
to  the  writer ;  to  pass  an  indefensible  error  is  to 
offend  the  employer  and  incur  discredit  as  a  com- 
petent reader.  Yet  the  positive  order  of  "Follow 
copy  exactly "  may  lead  to  unhappy  results  when 
the  author  cannot  see  the  proof  of  his  writing.1 

l  The  editor  of  a  prominent  ten.  The  reader  expostulated, 
daily  newspaper  in  New  York  but  promised  obedience.  That 
City,  after  some  angry  talk  with  evening  this  editor  made  the 
one  of  the  proof-readers  concern-  mistake  of  tarrying  too  long  in 
ing  that  reader's  alleged  officious  festive  company  over  the  dinner- 
meddling  with  his  articles  in  the  table.  His  half-written  article 
proof,  gave  the  positive  order  of  the  morning  concerning  the 
that  every  article  written  by  him  war  of  1859  in  Italy  abundantly 
should  be  printed  as  it  was  writ-  proved  his  knowledge  of  the  sub- 


Danger  of  correcting  too  much        319 


Correction  can  be  overdone,  for  there  are  amateur 
readers  who  unduly  magnify  their  office,  and  seize 
every  occasion  to  show  to  the  author  their  critical 
knowledge  of  rhetoric,  etymology,  and  punctuation. 
Tinkering  with  points  is  their  favorite  amusement, 


ject  and  his  ability  as  a  writer ; 
but  the  conclusion  of  that  arti- 
cle, written  after  the  dinner,  as 
clearly  showed  that  the  writer's 
brains  had  been  muddled  with 
wine.  Compositors  and  readers 
were  staggered  by  its  incoherent 
drivel.  What  could  be  done  ? 
It  was  past  midnight ;  the  writer 
had  left  the  office  and  could  not 
revise  the  proof.  No  one  dared 
correct.  Obeying  the  order  last 
given,  the  reader  authorized  the 
article  to  go  to  press,  and  it  was 
printed,  as  had  been  directed,  ex- 
actly as  it  was  written.  About 
the  bewilderment  of  the  readers 
of  the  paper,  and  the  consterna- 
tion of  the  writer  when  he  saw 
his  editorial  in  print,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  another  word. 
Copies  of  this  editorial  are  still 
preserved  among  the  curiosities 
of  newspaper  literature. 

The  risk  a  printer  has  to  en- 
counter when  he  is  positively 
directed  to  correct  faulty  manu- 
script is  quite  as  great,  as  will 
be  shown  by  the  following  anec- 
dote. 

An  illiterate  man,  who  wished 
to  be  alderman,  wrote  an  address 
to  the  public,  in  which  he  pro- 
claimed his  worthiness  and  an- 
nounced his  purpose.  Not  satis- 
fled  with  his  work,  he  asked  and 


received  the  literary  helping  of 
brother  illiterates ;  but  repeated 
correction  had  made  a  tangled 
and  interlined  copy,  hard  to  read 
and  harder  to  understand.  He 
took  it  to  a  job-printer,  confess- 
ing his  dissatisfaction  with  all 
the  work  done,  as  well  as  his  in- 
ability to  unravel  the  tangle. 
He  asked  the  printer  to  put  it  in 
good  shape  and  to  make  all  the 
changes  that  were  needed.  The 
complaisant  printer  indiscreetly 
rewrote  the  address,  and  made 
it  intelligible,  for  rewriting  was 
a  lighter  task  than  correction. 
To  do  this  he  had  to  change  bad 
spelling  and  grammar,  to  substi- 
tute short  for  ridiculously  long 
and  improper  words,  to  put  in 
two  or  three  sentences  unrelated 
statements  that  had  been  welded 
in  one.  After  this  treatment  it 
was  put  in  type  and  printed,  for 
it  was  in  haste,  and  could  not  be 
read  in  the  proof  by  the  person 
who  would  claim  its  authorship. 
To  the  printer's  confusion,  the 
prospective  alderman  refused 
the  printed  work  with  indigna- 
tion. It  was  not  his  address. 
The  printer  had  spoiled  it.  He 
had  cut  out  all  his  fine  writing 
and  elegant  language,  and  had 
made  his  address  as  simple  as  a 
child's  primer! 


320         Unwise  changes  in  punctuation 


which  they  practise  on  plates  whenever  they  are 
not  fully  employed,  with  little  regard  to  its  cost.1 
The  irritability  of  an  author  may  be  justly  pro- 
voked by  the  meddling  queries  of  a  captious  reader 
who  suggests  corrections  where  the  corrections  are 
not  needed.  Even  the  amiable  poet  Cowper  has  put 
on  record  his  anger  at  a  proof-reader  who  had  tried 


1  Many  years  ago  the  senior 
partner  of  the  firm  of  Harper  & 
Brothers,  in  his  daily  round  of 
inspection,  stopped  before  a  fin- 
isher in  the  stereotype  foun- 
dry, who  had  before  him  a  large 
pile  of  plates  and  many  proofs 
of  the  pages  of  a  book  which 
had  been  reprinted  in  several 
editions.  The  finisher's  work 
was  the  substitution  of  commas 
for  semicolons,  or  the  reverse 
process  —  obviously  a  meddle- 
some and  useless  work.  Mr.  Har- 
per asked  the  question,  "Are 
these  changes  the  order  of  the 
author  or  of  the  office  ? "  He  was 
told  that  they  were  ordered  by 
the  proof-reader.  Then  said  Mr. 
Harper:  "  Please  take  all  proofs 
back  to  the  reader,  and  tell  him 
that  if  he  wants  to  pay  for  the 
corrections,  you  can  go  on  with 
your  work.  Harper  &  Brothers 
will  not  pay  for  them." 

A  reprint  advertisement  mak- 
ing a  full  page  of  solid  nonpareil 
was  once  sent  to  a  magazine,  and 
reset  with  ordinary  corrections. 
It  does  not  appear  that  there 
could  have  been  any  important 
error  in  the  punctuation,  for  it 
had  been  satisfactory  to  the  pub- 


lisher and  to  the  public,  but  the 
proof-reader  fancied  it  was  his 
duty  to  improve  it.  He  claimed 
to  be  qualified  to  punctuate  by 
the  Wilson  system,  which  was 
infallibly  correct.  Working  un- 
der this  system,  he  thoroughly 
remodelled  the  punctuation,  at 
a  serious  added  expense  to  the 
office.  When  the  page  of  type 
so  corrected  had  been  printed,  it 
was  wrapped  up  and  put  away 
as  dead  matter.  One  year  after, 
the  same  advertisement,,  torn 
out  of  a  copy  of  the  previous 
year's  issue,  was  again  offered  to 
the  magazine.  The  old  compo- 
sition, still  intact,  was  re-proved 
and  sent  to  the  same  reader,  who 
had  entirely  forgotten  his  pre- 
vious work  upon  it.  To  the  fore- 
man's surprise,  this  infallible 
reader  remodelled  his  own  punc- 
tuation as  thoroughly  as  he  had 
remodelled  that  of  the  first  re- 
print copy.  Then  the  foreman 
took  out  of  the  previous  year's 
proof-files  the  corrections  that 
reader  had  made  for  the  first 
issue,  and  showed  him  that  this 
year's  changes  in  the  points 
were  an  unnecessary  return  to 
the  original  punctuation. 


A  tribute  by  Charles  Dickens         321 

to  improve  his  poems ;  he  accused  him  of  rash  and 
"  gratuitous  emendation,"  and  with  being  "  a  pre- 
sumptuous intermeddler."  This  meddling  (rarely 
done  by  the  trained  proof-reader)  is  common  with 
the  amateur  at  correction. 

Authors  who  are  most  far-seeing  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  copy  are  generous  in  their  acknowledgment 
of  the  efficient  service  rendered  to  them  by  a  com- 
petent proof-reader.  No  one  has  done  this  more 
gracefully  than  Charles  Dickens,1  who  said  in  a 
speech  made  by  him  at  London  in  1867 : 

I  can  testify  that  the  duties  of  a  corrector  are  not 
mechanical,  not  mere  matters  of  manipulation  and 
routine,  but  that  they  require  from  those  who  per- 
form them  much  natural  intelligence,  much  super- 
added  cultivation,  considerable  readiness  of  refer- 
ence, quickness  of  resource,  an  excellent  memory, 
and  a  clear  understanding.  I  gratefully  acknow- 
ledge that  I  have  never  gone  through  the  sheets 
of  any  book  that  I  have  written  without  having 
had  presented  to  me  by  the  corrector  of  the  press 
something  that  I  have  overlooked,  some  slight  in- 
consistency into  which  I  have  fallen,  some  little 
lapse  I  have  made ;  in  short,  without  having  set 
down  in  black  and  white  some  unquestionable  in- 
dication that  I  have  been  closely  followed  through 
my  work  by  a  patient  and  trained  mind,  and  not 
merely  by  a  skilled  eye. 

l  Robert  Browning,  Sir  Wai-  raphy  are  other  men  of  author- 

ter  Besant,  and  the  editors  of  ity  who  have  cheerfully  testi- 

the  Century  dictionary  and  of  fled  to  the  helpfulness  of  the 

the  Dictionary  of  National  Biog-  proof-readers. 


322       The  marks  used  by  proof-readers 

k 

THE  PROOF-READER'S  SIGNS 

No  ^[  No  new  paragraph. 

•Run  in  Let  there  be  no  break  in  the  reading. 

^[  Make  a  new  paragraph. 

V  V  V  Correct  uneven. spacing  of  words. 

^  Strike  out  the  marked  type,  word,  or  sen- 
tence. 

9  Reverse  this  type. 

#  More  space  where  caret  /\  is  marked. 

- — -  Contract  the  spacing, 

d^  Take  out  all  spacing. 

f  Move  this  to  the  left. 

~]  Move  this  to  the  right. 

1     '  Raise  this  line  or  letter. 

i ,  Depress  this  line  or  letter. 

1 1  Make  parallel  at  the  side  with  other  lines, 

n  Indent  line  an  em. 

xl.  Push  down  a  space  that  blackens  the  proof. 

X.  Change  this  bruised  type. 

w.f.  Change  this  faulty  type  of  a  wrong  font. 

tr.  Transpose  words  or  letters  underlined. 

I.e.  Put  in  lower-case,  or  small  letters. 

s.c.  Put  in  small  capitals. 

caps.  Put  in  capitals. 

^  Insert  apostrophe.      Superior  characters 

are  put  over  an  inverted  caret,  as  ^  y, 

^    *, ,  etc. ;  for  inferior  characters  the 

caret  is  put  in  its  usual  position,  as  in  7- 

rom.  Change  from  italic  to  roman. 


The  marks  used  by  proof-readers      323 

ital.       Change  from  roman  to  italic. 
O         Insert  period. 
j  /        Insert  comma. 
;  /        Insert  semicolon. 
:  /        Insert  colon. 
-  /        Insert  hyphen. 
/ — /       One-em  dash. 

/ /     Two-em  dash. 

$  Take  out  cancelled  character  and  close  up. 
QuTor  ?  Is  this  right  ?  See  to  it. 

A        Insert  letter  or  word  marked  in  margin. 
|  |  |  |      Hair-space  letters  as  marked. 
Stet       Restore  crossed-out  word  or  letter. 
....       'Dots  put  below  the  crossed  word,  mean : 
Cancel  the  correction  first  made,  and  let 
the  types  stand  as  they  were. 
- — .       Over  two  or  three  letters.    Change  for  the 
diphthong  or  for  a  logotype,  as  ae,  ffi. 
EEEEEE     Straighten  lines. 
ilii.       Diagonal  lines  crossing  the  text  indicate 

that  the  composition  is  out  of  square. 
Out,  see  copy.    Here  is  an  omission ;  see  copy. 

Corrections  or  textual  improvements  suggested  to 
the  author  should  be  accompanied  by  the  inter- 
rogation-point and  be  inclosed  in  parentheses  or 
"  ringed,"  as  (tr.  /  f)  or  (£  /  ?). 

Corrections  should  always  be  made  in  the  mar- 
gin, and  never  in  the  text;  faults  in  the  types  or 
text  to  be  indicated  only  by  light  pen  marks. 


324     Exhibit  of  proof-reader's  markings 


PROOF   BEFORE   CORRECTION 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN     GETTYSBURG 


J/.C/.      .FOUR  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  father's  brought  forth 
^l  on  this  continent,  a  new  nation,  oonooi'vcd  in  /iberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  nijdn  are  created  equal.,, 
ANow  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  oivil  war;  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  concaved  and  so  dedicated,  can          ^ 
long  endure.     We  are  met  on  a  great  battlejeld  of  that  waiA  y  f^l  O 
that  war.     We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field, 
as  a  final  resting  place  for  those  who  (gave\liere)  their  lives       &/• 
that  that  nation  might  ifve.     It  is  altogether  fitting  that  we  awa  jvuri 
should  do  this.  JJJ^  /      /        /       / 

But,  in  a  larger  senseTAve  *can  *no 
'    •  —T^ 

consecrate  —  we  can   not  halow 


/ 
r   . 


dedicate  —  we   can 
this   ground.     The 


jt/-V- 


r^ 

<^u<^- 


bravc]  men,  living i  and  i  dead,  who  struggled  here  have  con- 
secrated it,  far  above  our  poor  power  to  addor  detract.  ~) 

^The~world  will  little  note,   nor  loylg  remember  what  we   TV?/ 
say  here /but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  hereA   It  is  O 

|    for  us  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated -hew;  to  the  fy  ^etl^u/^l 
fished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  (so\ftiryOiug)       W. 
nobly  advanced.    It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  £/l 
great  task  remaining  before  us — thatjfrom  these  honored         X 

dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  Cause  for  which  they  Ji/  c/. 

gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  — that  we  here  highly          

resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain* —  and  

that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people^  for  t/ie  peo- 
ple,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

1  From  a  fac/simile  of  the  mayuscript  written  by  Mr.  Lincoln  fortjje  Baltimore  Fair  —  the    1*.   ^ 
itandard  versionA«hiohfappeared  in  /he  tf  Century  Magazine^  for  F.'lmary,  1894.  JLtcuU-l  & 


ccivu/ 


Exhibit  of  the  proof  after  its  correction    325 

PROOF  AFTER  CORRECTION 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS1 


Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 
on  this  continent,  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  Liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war;  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can 
long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war. 
YV<-  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field,  as  a  final 
resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that 
nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that 
we  should  do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  can  not  dedicate — we  can  not 
consecrate  —  we  can  not  hallow  —  this  ground.  The  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here  have  consecrated 
it,  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world 
will  little  note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it 
can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us  the  living, 
rather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  which 
they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is 
rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us  —  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased 
devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  mea- 
sure of  devotion  —  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  —  that  this  nation,  under 
God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  —  and  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 

1  From  a  facsimile  of  the  manuscript  written  by  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  Baltimore  Fair — the 
standard  version  —  which  appeared  in  The  Century  Magazine  for  February,  1894. 

21 


326  Moxon's  notions  about  copy 

In  a  Jlri  ft  fence,  a  good  Compofiter  need  be  no  more  than 
an  Englijb  Scholler,  or  indeed  fcarcefo  much  ;  for  if  be 
knows  but  bis  Letters  and  Cbarafters  be  jhall  meet  with 
in  bis  Printed  or  Written  Copy,  and  have  otberwife  a 
good  natural  capacity,  be  may  be  a  better  Compofiter 
than  another  Man  whofe  Education  has  adorn1  d  him  with 
Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  other  Languages,  and  Jball 
want  a  good  natural  Genius  :  For  by  the  Laws  of  Print- 
ing, a  Compofiter  is  ftrittly  to  follow  his  Copy,  viz.  to 
obferve  and  do  jujl  fo  much  and  no  more  than  his  Copy 
will  bear  him  out  for  ;  fo  that  his  Copy  is  to  be  his  Rule 
and  Authority  :  But  the  carelefnefs  of  fame  good  Authors, 
and  the  ignorance  of  other  Authors,  has  fore' d  Printers 
to  introduce  a  Cuftom,  which  among  them  is  look1  d  upon 
as  a  task  and  duty  incumbent  on  the  Compofiter,  viz. 
to  difcern  and  amend  the  bad  Spelling  and  Pointing  of 
his  Copy,  if  it  be  Englijh  ;  But  if  it  be  in  any  For  rain 
Language,  the  Author  is  wboly  left  to  bis  own  Skill  and 
Judgement  in  Spelling  and  Pointing,  &f.  his  Copy,  and 
Correcting  the  Prooves,  unlefs  they  be  Latine,  Greek  or 
Hebrew,  for  to  thofe  Languages  there  is  generally  a  Cor- 
redlor  belongs  to  the  Printing- Houfe  :  And  how  well  other 
Forrain  Languages  ^r^Correfted  by  the  Author,  we  may 
perceive  by  the  Englijb  that  is  Printed  in  Forrain  Coun- 
tries. 

Therefore  upon  confederation  of  tbefe  accidental  cir- 
cumjlances  that  attend  Copy,  /'/  is  necejfary  that  a  Com- 
pofiter be  a  good  Englijb  Scbollar  at  leajl ;  and  that  he 
know  the  prefent  traditional  Spelling  of  all  Englijh 
Words,  and  that  he  have  fo  much  Sence  and  Reafon,  as 
to  Point  his  Sentences  properly  :  when  to  begin  a  Word 
with  a  Capital  Letter,  when  (/0  render  the  Sence  of  the 
Author  more  intelligent  to  the  Reader^)  to  Set  fame 
Words  or  Sentences  in  Italick  or  Englilh  Letters,  tsV.1 

i  Moxon,  Mechanick  Exercises,  pp.  197,  198. 


XVII 


ABOUT  COPY 

OXON  has  defined  the  compositor's 
duty  as  largely  but  not  entirely  that 
of  the  copyist.  The  author  may  tell 
him  to  follow  copy  literally,  but  the 
master  printer  tells  him  to  maintain 
uniformity.  These  orders  often  conflict.  How  can 
agreement  be  had  ? 

When  copy  has  been  negligently  prepared  by 
a  careless  writer  who  sometimes  spells  incorrectly 
and  capitalizes  and  italicizes  without  system,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  compositor  to  correct  these  faults 
according  to  the  style  prescribed  by  the  office  in 
which  he  works ;  but  when  copy  has  been  carefully 
prepared  by  a  disciplined  writer,  who  plainly  shows 
that  he  has  a  style  of  his  own,  that  copy  should  be 
followed  faithfully,  even  if  it  does  conflict  with 
the  system  of  the  office.  It  is  the  author's  right  to 

327 


328      Negligence  in  preparation  of  copy 

go  before  the  public  in  his  own  way ;  to  show  his 
own  notions  about  italic,  punctuation,  and  capital- 
izing, and  to  follow  the  spelling  of  Webster,  Stor- 
month,  or  Dr.  Johnson.  All  that  the  printer  asks 
of  the  author  is  that  he  shall  spell  uniformly  and 
put  his  capitals,  points,  and  other  peculiarities  of 
style  in  their  proper  places,  so  that  there  can  be 
no  misunderstanding  about  his  intent.  If  he  has 
not  done  this  thoroughly  (even  a  careful  writer 
cannot  be  consistent  always),  he  should  prepare  a 
written  code  of  his  style,  plainly  indicating  the 
spellings  he  prefers  and  making  clear  his  system 
for  the  use  of  italic,  points,  quotation-marks,  refer- 
ences, compound  words,  abbreviations,  etc.  When 
the  master  printer  has  this  code  put  in  type,  and 
provides  a  fair  proof  of  it  for  every  compositor  on 
the  work,  the  irregularities  of  style  that  deface  a 
first  proof  and  make  the  alterations  expensive  are 
largely  prevented.  When  the  writer  does  not  pro- 
vide this  written  code,  the  compositor  should  try 
to  make  the  style  uniform,  according  to  his  under- 
standing of  the  author's  unexpressed  wishes.  There 
the  compositor's  duty  ends,  even  if  he  does  not  cor- 
rectly guess  an  unexpressed  intent,  and  does  not 
maintain  in  all  points  the  author's  notions  about 
uniformity.  It  is  not  his  fault  if  copy  is  mislead- 
ing or  if  instructions  are  insufficient. 

The  art  of  preparing  copy  for  a  printer  is  not 
taught  in  schools,  and  the  authors  are  few  who 
have  devised  and  adhere  to  systems  of  their  own. 


Many  compositors  needed  for  a  look    329 

Much  of  the  copy  sent  to  a  printing-house  seems 
to  indicate  on  the  part  of  the  author  his  indiffer- 
ence to  all  typographic  niceties :  a  strange  proper 
name  may  be  spelled  in  two  or  more  ways ;  punc- 
tuation may  be  excessive  in  one  paragraph  and 
scant  in  another;  italic  may  be  marked  for  one 
quotation,  quotation-marks  for  another,  while  a 
third  of  the  same  class  may  have  no  marks  of  dis- 
tinction ;  arabic  figures  and  spelled-out  words  for 
numbers  may  appear  upon  the  same  page.  These 
are  some  of  the  many  inconsistencies  of  the  ordi- 
nary manuscript,  which  the  writer  fails  to  see  in  his 
own  writing,  but  they  are  glaringly  offensive  when 
they  reappear  in  the  proof.  Good  copy  and  bad 
copy  are  easily  distinguished,  and  the  compositor 
knows  almost  at  a  glance  that  he  must  follow  the 
first  and  correct  the  last.  Between  these  two  ex- 
tremes is  a  much  larger  quantity  of  copy  that  may 
or  may  not  require  correction.  The  common  be- 
lief that  the  correction  of  these  lapses  is  the  com- 
positor's duty  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the 
compositor  is  a  qualified  corrector.  This  is  a  grave 
error.  If  he  were  a  corrector,  it  is  probable  that  he 
would  have  the  much  better  paid  position  of  proof- 
reader or  assistant  editor. 

It  is  another  mistake  to  assume  that  the  work 
of  composition  is  always  done  by  one  compositor, 
who  can  and  will  correct  errors  with  uniformity. 
A  long  manuscript  is  always  set  by  many  com- 
positors ;  if  it  is  required  in  haste,  or  even  if  its 


330     Compositors  not  qualified  correctors 

composition  is  protracted  over  many  months,  it  may 
be  set  and  read  by  many  compositors  and  readers. 
In  our  present  condition  of  conflicting  authority, 
compositors  and  proof-readers  must  have  different 
opinions  about  correct  composition,  and  it  is  not 
reasonable  to  expect  that  all  the  workmen  will 
agree  on  every  point.  The  uniformity  desired  by 
an  author  should  begin  with  himself  in  the  copy, 
even  if  he  finds  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  copy 
type-written  and  approved  by  a  qualified  corrector 
before  it  is  sent  to  the  printer. 

Too  much  dependence  should  not  be  placed  on 
the  corrections  that  are  hoped  for  in  the  printing- 
house.  It  is  unsafe  for  the  master  printer  to  allow 
the  compositor  to  make  a  material  change  in  copy 
without  positive  authority.  He  may  correct  plain 
faults  according  to  the  system  provided  by  the 
author  or  by  the  office,  but  he  must  do  no  more. 
Even  when  he  finds  in  the  copy  what  may  seem 
unauthorized  errors  of  spelling  or  grammar,  he  is 
not  justified  in  correcting  them  without  a  special 
order, "^or  the  supposed  errors  may  not  be  errors. 
In  extracts,  testimony,  or  documents  intended  to 
be  literally  exact,  faults  of  grammar  or  spelling 
are  presumptive  evidence  of  painstaking  accuracy. 
The  writer  or  speaker,  not  the  printer,  is  respon- 
sible for  the  errors.  The  compositor  should  have 
small  license  for  correction ;  he  is  safe  only  when 
he  literally  follows  copy,  or  obeys  a  distinct  order 
to  change.  He  should  not  alter  properly  prepared 


Selection  of  paper  for  copy  331 

copy  without  order,  for  the  use  or  the  misuse  of 
capitals,  italic,  and  points  indicates  the  mental 
status  of  the  writer  as  plainly  as  his  written  words. 
In  legal  documents  much  may  depend  upon  the 
presence  or  absence  of  a  comma. 

Quotations  should  be  put  in  type  as  written  in 
copy.  Those  made  from  memory  only  are  usually 
inexact,  but  the  compositor  should  not  correct  the 
fault  even  when  he  knows  the  true  rendering.  A 
judicious  author  will  be  thankful  for  the  query  of 
a  supposed  error,  but  the  reader  must  stop  with 
the  query.  It  cannot  be  too  frequently  impressed 
on  him  that  his  first  duty  is  to  follow  copy. 

It  often  happens  that  the  author  and  the  master 
printer  are  at  variance  regarding  typographic  de- 
tails. The  author  has  the  right  to  overrule  every 
typographic  method  that  may  be  suggested  by  the 
printer,  and  when  he  does  so  overrule  his  decision 
should  be  obeyed  without  question,  even  when  the 
author  follows  the  fashions  of  advertisers  and  job- 
printers,  and  insists  on  typography  in  the  worst 
taste ;  but  the  printer  can  and  should  refuse  his 
imprint  to  all  printing  done  to  order  in  bad  form. 
This  is  the  printer's  right ;  for  it  may  be  assumed 
by  the  book  reviewer  that  typographic  uncouth- 
ness  in  a  book  is  an  evidence  of  the  ignorance  or 
the  bad  taste  of  the  printer. 

Paper  selected  for  copy  should  be  uniform  as 
to  size.  When  odds  and  ends  of  paper  have  been 
used  for  copy,  and  interleaved  with  additions  on 


332        Proper  provision  for  alterations 

smaller  scraps,  some  with  coarse  and  some  with 
fine  writing,  it  is  impracticable  to  make  a  correct 
estimate  of  the  number  of  pages  that  the  manu- 
script will  occupy  in  print.  Copy  so  put  together 
gives  needless  trouble  to  the  workmen ;  it  is  not 
easily  arranged  by  the  copy-holder,  and  is  liable  to 
misplacement  and  loss.  What  is  worse,  it  leads  to 
the  making  of  blunders.1  The  size  commercial 
note  ( leaf  5x8  inches)  is  large  enough  for  those 
who  write  with  small  and  neat  letters;  sermon 
paper  ( leaf  7  x  8 £  inches)  and  letter  paper  ( leaf 
8  x  10  inches)  are  better  sizes  for  those  who  write 
with  more  boldness,  and  are  entirely  acceptable 
to  compositors;  but  foolscap  (leaf  7^x12  inches) 
and  flat  cap  (leaf  8£  x  14  inches)  are  inconvenient 
shapes.  Very  thin  paper  that  cannot  be  kept  in 
position  on  the  compositor's  case,  and  very  thick 
paper  that  may  have  been  marred  with  creases, 
are  equally  objectionable.  Manuscripts  should  be 
kept  flat ;  if  it  is  necessary  to  roll  them,  let  them 
be  rolled  with  the  writing  on  the  convex  side. 

Copy  paper  should  have  a  wide  margin  on  the 
left  side  of  the  leaf  as  a  provision  for  possible  alter- 
ations in  the  manuscript.  Alterations  in  minute 
writing  between  the  lines  are  usually  obscure  and 

1  Sharon  Turner,  author  of  a  copy  upon  the  backs  of  letters 

History   of    the  Anglo-Saxons,  addressed  to  him.     One  of  his 

sent  much  of  his  copy  to  the  detractors  stigmatized  him  as 

printer    on  any  stray  waif  of  "the  penurious,  paper-sparing 

paper  he  found  at  hand.     The  Pope."    The  cheapness  of  paper 

poet  Pope  wrote   some  of  his  has  put  an  end  to  this  economy. 


Bad  practices  in  penmanship         333 

productive  of  error.  When  the  author  does  not 
provide  a  wide  margin  at  the  left  of  the  copy  paper, 
he  should  leave  wide  spaces  between  lines. 

Copy  should  be  written  with  ink,  and  on  one  side 
of  the  leaf.  That  which  has  been  written  on  both 
sides  often  has  to  be  cut  apart  in  two  or  three  slips 
and  given  to  different  compositors.  The  reuniting 
of  these  slips  gives  needless  trouble,  and  it  may  be 
done  badly  and  lead  to  very  serious  error.  Pencil 
writing  makes  bad  copy  unless  it  has  been  done 
boldly  and  with  an  indelible  pencil.  Weak  hand- 
writing with  a  hard  pencil  on  smooth  paper  always 
makes  indistinct  copy. 

Many  of  the  so-called  errors  of  the  press  begin 
with  bad  arrangement  of  copy  and  indistinct  writ- 
ing which  compels  the  compositor  to  guess  (and  to 
guess  erroneously  sometimes)  at  the  spelling  of  the 
obscure  words.  Some  teachers  of  penmanship  are 
to  blame  for  the  bad  models  they  put  before  their 
pupils :  in  some  models  the  n  and  u  are  nearly  alike ; 
in  the  penmanship  of  their  pupils  they  are  exactly 
alike.  Capital  letters  are  sometimes  so  overloaded 
with  flourishes  that  one  letter  will  be  mistaken  for 
another.  In  the  angular  style  of  penmanship  the 
small  letters  are  almost  as  uniform  in  shape  as  the 
teeth  of  a  saw— each  tooth  and  each  small  letter 
much  like  its  fellows.  The  meaning  of  the  words 
has  to  be  guessed  at  from  an  occasional  capital  or 
the  loops  of  the  ascending  or  descending  letters. 
Some  writers  make  no  easily  perceptible  distinction 


334       Some  authors  provide  good  copy 

between  the  capitals  I  and  J.  When  they  appear 
in  the  name  Isaac  Jones,  the  letters  that  follow  the 
capitals  are  the  real  guides  to  the  proper  selection 
of  capitals ;  but  when  the  first  name  is  abbrevi- 
ated to  I.  Jones,  it  is  possible  that  I  will  appear  as  J 
in  print.  A  similar  remark  may  be  made  concern- 
ing the  formations  of  the  capitals  T,  S,  and  Y  as 
they  are  put  upon  paper  by  some  writers.  It  is 
not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  compositor  who 
works  by  the  piece  can  afford  to  waste  much  time 
in  deciphering  the  words  which  the  writer  has  not 
even  tried  to  make  plain.  With  every  desire  to  aid 
the  author,  the  compositor  can  do  but  little  toward 
helping  him  in  making  his  words  intelligible. 

There  is  a  wide-spread  belief  that  all  authors  are 
illegible  writers.  The  first  copy  of  their  writings 
may  be  indistinct  or  illegible,  on  which  hasty  pen- 
scratches  were  made  to  preserve  a  quickly  flying 
thought,  and  this  copy  may  be  afterward  obscured 
with  erasures  and  interlineations ;  but  this  is  not 
the  copy  that  is  sent  to  the  printing-house.  The 
last  copy  of  the  professional  writer,  even  when  it 
is  not  type-written,  is  much  neater  and  is  usually 
much  more  systematically  arranged  than  that  of 
the  man  of  business  or  the  amateur  in  authorship.1 

i  The  poet  Gray  rewrote  his  Allan  Poe  were  models  of  neat- 
Elegy  nearly  twenty  times  be-  ness.  The  penmanship  of  some 
fore  he  was  content  with  its  con-  journalists  is  almost  .as  read- 
struction.  Tennyson  was  almost  able  as  print.  Eugene  Field  was 
as  fastidious.  The  writings  of  a  notable  example.  There  are 
Thomas  Hood  and  of  Edgar  busy  authors  who  keep  in  their 


Illegible  writing  calls  for  study        335 


What  the  compositor  desires  in  every  manuscript 
is  distinctness  and  a  systematic  use  of  points  and 
capitals.  The  writer  of  a  crabbed  hand  may  be  a 
preparer  of  readable  copy.  Horace  Greeley's  manu- 
script was  a  torment  to  the  inexpert,  but  the  few 
compositors  on  the  Tribune  who  had  studied  its 
peculiarities  said  it  was  fair  copy.  Capitals  and 
points  were  correctly  used,  and  were  not  changed 
in  proof.  Mr.  Greeley  often  said  that  he  would  not 
care  to  read  proof  if  he  could  be  assured  that  his 
words  would  be  printed  as  they  had  been  written.1 
Dr.  Holland,  a  better  penman  and  a  voluminous 


employ  a  special  editor  to  cor- 
rect and  systematize,  and  a  copy- 
ist to  transcribe,  their  manu- 
scripts. Charles  Dickens's  writ- 
ings were  so  re  vised  by  an  editor, 
who  cancelled  paragraphs  and 
pages  at  his  pleasure,  and  re- 
turned to  him  the  manuscript 
for  addition  and  improvement. 
George  Bancroft,  the  historian, 
had  his  manuscripts  carefully 
transcribed  and  put  in  type, 
from  which  two  proofs  were 
made.  The  first  setting  of  the 
type  was  then  distributed.  The 
two  proofs  were  carefully  re- 
vised at  convenience,  dates  and 
authorities  were  verified,  verbi- 
age was  cut  out,  new  matter 
added,  and  imperfect  sentences 
amended.  The  new  copy  so 
prepared  on  this  proof  gave  no 
more  trouble  to  the  compositor 
than  ordinary  reprint,  and  the 
charges  for  alterations  in  the 
proof  were  consequently  trivial. 


l  Ability  to  read  bad  writing 
is  an  inborn  faculty,  but  it  can 
be  developed  by  study.  There 
are  compositors,  and  even  copy- 
holders, whose  guesses  at  ob- 
scure words  are  as  happy  as 
old-time  divination,  but  their 
seeming  guesses  are  really  the 
outcome  of  the  study  that  fol- 
lows keener  perception.  As  a 
rule,  every  penman  writes  con- 
sistently ;  his  style  is  affected 
by  changes  of  pen,  ink,  and 
paper,  by  age,  haste,  or  fatigue, 
but  he  always  retains  his  own 
mannerisms,  the  same  letters  or 
combinations  of  letters  being 
repeated  in  the  same  general 
form.  Keeping  this  in  view, 
the  key  may  be  found  that  will 
unlock  the  concealments  of  bad 
writing.  In  a  letter  to  his  pub- 
lisher, Byron  said:  "  Your  com- 
positor is  a  worker  of  miracles. 
He  has  done  what  I  cannot  do. 
He  has  read  my  bad  writing." 


336       Bad  writing  delays  performance 

writer,  was  a  trained  preparer  of  copy ;  he  seldom 
changed  a  word  or  point  in  his  proof.  Wendell 
Phillips  Garrison  and  his  brother  Francis  Jackson 
wrote  a  book  of  four  octavo  volumes  with  side-notes 
and  a  profusion  of  letters,  documents,  and  extracts ; 
but  the  copy  was  systematically  prepared,  and  the 
changes  made  in  the  proof  were  insignificant — 
much  smaller  than  had  been  made  in  the  printing- 
house  upon  any  other  work  of  equal  size. 

A  generous  forbearance  must  be  conceded  to  the 
rude  and  rapid  writing  of  a  reporter  who  has  sten- 
ographically  reported  an  evening  speech,  and  has 
to  rewrite  it  in  longhand  so  that  the  compositors 
can  have  the  copy  before  midnight.  The  hurried 
work  of  the  night  editor  of  a  daily  newspaper  calls 
for  a  similar  indulgence,  but  that  forbearance  is 
not  due  to  the  writer  who  has  ample  time  to  write 
legibly,  or  the  means  to  have  his  illegible  writing 
fairly  transcribed  or  type- written.  The  needs,  and 
indeed  the  rights,  of  the  printer  deserve  more  con- 
sideration than  they  receive. 

The  composition  of  ordinary  books  is  always  a 
work  of  special  contract.  When  the  master  printer 
agrees  in  turn  with  his  compositors  at  a  fixed  rate 
per  page,  it  is  supposed  that  the  copy  furnished 
will  be  easily  readable,  and  that  the  daily  perform- 
ance of  every  type-setter  will  be  about  five  duo- 
decimo pages  of  ten -point  type  or  its  equivalent. 
The  master  printer  and  the  compositor  are  not 
paid  for  time  spent  on  the  work ;  they  are  paid  for 


Injustice  produced  by  bad  copy         337 

actual  performance  only.  If  the  copy  is  hard  to 
read  and  understand,  the  compositor  will  set  but 
four  or  three  pages.  When  it  is  very  obscure  he 
will  do  no  more  than  two  pages,  and  he  may  and 
sometimes  does  refuse  to  do  work  that  is  so  meanly 
paid.  Composition  done  under  these  conditions  is 
always  done  badly,  and  may  be  full  of  obscurities 
that  hinder  the  proof-reader  and  bring  discredit 
upon  printer  and  publisher.  It  frequently  happens 
that  the  master  printer  has  to  return  a  manuscript 
to  the  writer  to  be  legibly  rewritten.  The  injustice 
of  this  disregard  of  the  workmen's  need  is  fairly  pre- 
sented by  Drew.1 

Additions  to  a  manuscript  should  never  be  writ- 
ten on  the  back  of  the  leaf,  where  an  addition  is 

l  In  all  other  cases  of  en-  tween  man  and  man,  where  bad 
croaching  on  the  time  and  pa-  writing,  except  in  rare  and  ex- 
tience  of  another, —  as,  for  in-  treme  cases,  does  not  involve 
stance,  our  failure  to  fulfill  an  pecuniary  loss.  But  when  we 
appointment,  or  calling  at  an  are  writing  for  the  press,  our 
unseasonable  hour,  or  seeking  duty  to  write  legibly  becomes 
advice  in  an  affair  wholly  our  imperative ;  indeed,  a  failure  in 
own, — we  feel  bound  to  make  due  this  respect  trenches  so  closely 
apology,  nay,  sometimes  even  ac-  upon  a  violation  of  the  eighth 
knowledge  a  sense  of  shame;  commandment,  that  it  can  sel- 
but  who  ever  felt  regret  on  hear-  dom  happen  but  from  a  want  of 
ing  that  he  had  put  someone  thought  as  to  the  relation  be- 
to  the  trouble  of  studying,  and  tween  those  who  write  and  those 
guessing  at,  a  puzzling  intricacy  who  print.  .  .  . 
of  cramped  writing ;  his  victim  If  one-eighth  of  the  time  now 
being  obliged  to  seek  aid  from  spent  in  correcting,  overrun- 
dictionaries,  gazetteers,  direc-  ning  the  matter,  and  revising, 
tories,  and  even  experts  ?  We  were  bestowed  upon  perfecting 
never  heard  of  a  man's  suffering  the  copy,  there  would  seldom 
compunction  on  this  score.  ...  be  any  delay  in  a  well  appointed 
We  say  this,  referring  to  ordi-  printing-office, 
nary  business  transactions  be-  Pens  and  Types,  pp.  20,  21.  25. 


338       Foreign  words  need  special  care 

liable  to  be  overlooked ;  but  if  such  an  addition  is 
made,  attention  should  be  directed  to  it  by  bold 
markings  on  the  face  of  the  copy.  It  is  a  better 
practice  to  write  out  the  addition  on  a  separate 
slip  of  paper  and  to  paste  it  on  in  its  proper  place, 
where  it  will  not  be  overlooked. 

When  an  insertion  of  one  leaf  or  more  is  to  be 
made  in  copy,  the  inserted  leaves  should  be  care- 
fully numbered  in  order.  If,  as  is  usual,  it  is  im- 
practicable to  renumber  anew  all  the  leaves  of  the 
entire  manuscript,  the  inserts  should  receive  the 
number  of  the  last  folio,  with  the  addition  of  al- 
phabetical letters  in  regular  order.  If  the  inserts 
are  to  go  between  folios  22  and  23,  these  inserts 
should  be  marked  22a,  221),  22c,  etc.  The  foot  of 
page  22  should  have  this  note  for  the  compositor : 
22  is  followed  by  22a,  22b,  22c.  A  similar  practice 
should  be  observed  in  the  cancelling  of  discarded 
leaves.  If  pages  41  to  46  must  be  cancelled,  the 
foot  of  page  40  should  have  this  note  :  Pages  41-46 
are  cancelled. 

Words  in  foreign  languages,  proper  names  of  all 
kinds,  historical  or  geographical,  and  little-used 
terms  in  science  and  art.  should  be  written  with 
unusual  distinctness  and  with  the  accents  clearly 
marked.  The  compositor  is  not  expected  to  have 
the  knowledge  of  these  matters  that  will  supple- 
ment the  writer's  neglect  to  write  plainly. 

Moxon's  comments  on  neglected  preparation  of 
copy  deserve  reprinting  in  full. 


Additional  observations  by  Moxon     339 

Although  I  have  in  the  precedent  Exercifes  Jhew  'd 
the  Accomplijbments  of  a  good  Compofiter,  yet  will  not 
a  curious  Author  truji  either  to  his  Care  or  Abilities 
in  Pointing,  Italicking,  Capitalling,  Breaking,  &c. 
Therefore  it  behoves  an  Author  to  examine  his  Copy 
very  well  e're  he  deliver  it  to  the  Printer,  and  to  Point 
it,  and  mark  it  fo  as  the  Compofiter  may  know  what 
Words  to  Set  in  Italick,  Englifh,  Capitals,  &c. 

If  his  Copy,  or  any  part  of  it,  be  Written  in  any 
Foreign  Language,  he  is  ftrittly  to  fpell  that  Foreign 
Language  right :  Becaufe  the  Compofiter,  as  I  faid  in 
the  Preface  to  this  §,  takes  no  notice  of  any  thing  therein 
but  the  very  Letters,  Points  and  Characters  be  finds  in 
his  Copy. 

If  an  Author  have  not  {through  bafte  in  Writing) 
made  Breaks  in  proper  places  ;  when  he  comes  to  perufe 
bis  Copy  be  may  find  caufe  to  make  feveral  Breaks 
where  he  made  none  :  In  fucb  a  cafe  be  makes  a 
Crotchet  [  thus,  at  the  Word  be  would  have  begin  bis 
new  Paragraph. 

Thus  in  all  particulars  be  takes  care  to  deliver  bis 
Copy  perfeft  :  For  then  be  may  expett  to  have  bis 
Book  perfeflly  Printed.  For  by  no  means  be  ought  to 
hope  to  mend  it  in  the  Proof,  the  Compofiter  not  being 
obliged  to  it  :  And  it  cannot  reafonably  be  expefted  be 
Jhould  be  fo  good  Natured  to  take  fo  much  pains  to  mend 
fucb  Alterations  as  the  fecond  Diflates  of  an  Author 
may  make,  unlefs  he  be  very  well  paid  for  it  over  and 
above  what  be  agreed  for  with  the  Mafter- Printer.1 

The  placing  of  marks  of  punctuation  is  usually  done 
by  the  author  when  he  completes  each  sentence, 
but  if  he  remodels  the  phrasing  or  construction  of 
that  sentence  in  a  subsequent  revision,  the  points 

i  Meehanick  Exercises,  pp.  265.  266. 


340  Underscorings  for  display 

should  be  looked  after  with  care,  for  those  first 
made  will  surely  be  wrong,  and  will  bewilder  the 
compositor.  Abbreviations  should  not  be  used  in 
the  manuscript  which  the  author  does  not  wish  to 
see  repeated  in  that  form  in  print. 

These  are  the  underscorings  used  by  editors  as 
directions  for  italic,  small  capitals,  and  capitals : 

italic.  EE  capitals. 


~  small  capitals.    :  ~  italic  capitals. 

Mr.  J.  Stearns  Gushing  of  the  Norwood  Press  offers 
these  underscorings  for  display  in  school-books  : 

bold-faced  m=z==  bold-faced 

lower-case.          ^x%^x~-^~v^-  capital  letters. 

.  p-esbetween 
letters- 


Underscoring  for  italic  or  bold  display,  and  the 
placing  of  quotation-marks,  should  not  be  done 
during  literary  composition,  for  they  are  sure  to  be 
inconsistent.  It  will  be  prudent  to  postpone  these 
markings  until  the  writing  has  been  completed, 
and  the  author  is  better  prepared  to  make  a  code 
that  can  be  applied  to  all  cases.  It  is  desirable  to 
have  the  punctuation  done  by  the  writer  ;  but  he 
should  not  over-punctuate,  and  especially  should 
not  make  too  free  use  of  the  dash  and  quote-marks, 
which  may  obscure  his  meaning. 


Type-written  copy  is  preferred        341 

The  leaves  of  all  manuscript  copy  should  be  paged 
systematically  from  beginning  to  end.  To  page 
each  chapter  by  itself  leads  to  confusion.  When 
two  or  more  chapters  are  in  the  hands  of  different 
compositors  at  one  time,  they  cannot  be  reassem- 
bled easily  and  put  in  the  proper  place.  Page  16  of 
manuscript,  intended  for  chapter  vi,  may  be  trans- 
posed with  page  16  of  chapter  vn. 

A  foot-note,  or  a  citation  of  quoted  authority, 
should  be  written  exactly  as  it  should  appear  in 
print,  and  be  placed  directly  under  the  line  of  text 
which  contains  the  reference  to  that  note.  When 
foot-notes  are  written  on  separate  scraps  of  paper 
and  are  pasted  out  of  place  on  the  copy,  it  is  prob- 
able that  they  will  be  out  of  place  in  print. 

When  copy  for  the  text  of  a  book  is  sent  to  the 
printing-house  at  irregular  intervals  and  in  instal- 
ments of  one  or  two  chapters,  its  composition  is 
done  at  disadvantage.  An  inspection  at  one  time 
of  all  the  copy  is  needed  to  determine  the  uniform- 
ity in  little  details  which  is  one  of  the  merits  of  a 
well-made  book.  When  the  text  of  any  book  con- 
taining irregular  parts  is  set  and  electrotyped  in 
driblets,  it  must  have  inconsistencies  of  treatment 
that  may  cry  aloud  for  expensive  changes  after  the 
plates  have  been  made. 

When  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  manuscript  should 
be  type-written,  and  carefully  revised  by  the  author 
before  it  is  sent  to  the  printing-house.  Even  a 
neat  and  careful  writer  will  be  surprised  to  find 

22 


342         Copy  has  to  be  revised  in  proof 

how  much  more  quickly  he  can  detect  an  error  in 
type-written  copy  than  in  his  manuscript.  Pub- 
lishers of  experience  give  all  manuscripts  accepted 
by  them,  whether  written  well  or  ill,  to  the  type- 
writer, and  this  type- written  copy  is  revised  by  the 
author  before  it  goes  to  the  printer.  The  type- 
writing of  the  new  copy  does  not  cost  so  much  as 
the  alterations  in  type  that  have  to  be  made  from 
manuscript  copy.  Careful  authors  approve  of  this 
method,  for  it  hastens  the  getting  of  a  clean  proof 
and  lightens  the  subsequent  labor  of  correction. 
If  the  writer  of  indistinct  copy  could  stand  by  the 
case  of  a  compositor,  and  could  note  how  much  he 
is  delayed  by  obscure  writing,  what  grave  errors 
he  makes  by  reason  of  this  obscurity,  how  imper- 
fectly the  proof-reader  corrects  the  misunderstand- 
ings of  the  compositor,  and  could  foresee  the  added 
expense  of  the  alterations  and  overrunnings  that 
have  been  caused  by  hasty  writing,  but  that  will 
have  to  be  made,  and  that  the  author  will  have  to 
pay  for — he  would  not  regret  the  delay  or  question 
the  economy  of  type-written  copy. 

The  author's  work  does  not  end  with  his  revision 
of  copy.  He  should  read  proof,  and  proof-reading 
will  require  much  more  of  time  and  care  than  he  in- 
tended to  give.  He  is  sure  to  find  words  awkwardly 
divided,  and  the  subheadings,  foot-notes,  extracts, 
tables,  and  illustrations  contrary  to  the  plan  of  the 
copy  and  in  unexpected  positions.  His  reference- 
mark  to  a  foot-note  in  the  manuscript,  or  his  line  of 


The  grievance  of  lad  writing         343 

subheading,  may  fall  on  the  last  line  of  the  page  of 
print,  where  it  cannot  be  put.  His  indivisible  table 
of  figures  or  engraved  illustration  may  have  been 
placed  in  the  proof,  and  unavoidably  so  placed,  too 
far  from  the  explanatory  text.  He  sees  that  it  is 
not  always  possible  for  the  printer  to  follow  copy 
unthinkingly.  The  types  are  tyrannous;  pages 
must  be  of  uniform  length  and  width,  and  words 
or  lines  must  be  made  longer  or  shorter  to  adapt 
them  to  type  and  page.  The  maker-up  and  proof- 
reader are  usually  intelligent  helpers  and  discreet 
advisers  to  this  end,  but  they  cannot  rearrange  the 
composition  without  fresh  instruction  from  the 
author.  If  he  expects  an  orderly  book,  he  must  cut 
out  or  add  words  to  prevent  the  bad  division  of  a 
proper  name ;  he  must  add  or  cancel  lines  before 
or  after  a  table  or  an  illustration  that  may  stand 
in  the  way  of  a  proper  make-up.  This  is  drudgery, 
but  it  is  not  to  be  avoided.  It  cannot  be  done  by 
the  printer ;  it  must  be  done  by  the  author. 

Bad  writing  is  a  very  old  grievance  of  printing, 
but  complaint  has  not  led  to  any  improvement,  for 
its  practice  is  as  common  as  ever.  Faults  found 
with  speech  that  is  hard  to  understand  are  seldom 
applied  to  letters  that  are  hard  to  read.  We  are 
used  to  bad  writing  in  correspondence,  in  the  bills 
of  tradesmen,  in  the  receipts  of  expressmen,  in  the 
prescriptions  of  physicians,  and  we  have  to  tol- 
erate it.  The  haste  with  which -we  require  some 
work  to  be  done  seems  to  compel  careless  writing. 


344     Machines  must  have  readable  copy 

The  good  penman  fresh  from  school  who  goes  into 
a  counting-room  is  urged  to  be  quick  and  quicker, 
and  he  soon  falls  into  the  bad  habits  of  forming 
letters  indistinctly,  of  making  signs  and  abbrevia- 
tions. The  journalist  who  works  against  time  is 
unable  to  make  entirely  legible  upon  the  paper  the 
thoughts  that  crowd  too  fast  for  proper  expres- 
sion. There  always  have  been  and  always  will  be 
bad  writers,  and  the  compositor  must  accept  some 
bad  copy 'as  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  printing 
trade  against  which  it  seems  useless  to  protest. 
Yet  there  is  a  limit  to  forbearance. 

Bad  writing  and  badly  arranged  copy  have  to  be 
declined  on  the  type-setting  machine.  A  machine 
made  to  quicken  type-setting  is  of  no  benefit  to  any 
one  if  the  operator  has  to  pause  on  every  line  to 
decipher  obscure  words.  It  is  not  for  the  tedious 
disentangling  of  written  puzzles  that  the  master 
printer  pays  thirty-four  hundred  dollars  for  a  new 
machine  and  from  three  and  a  half  to  five  dollars 
a  day  to  the  operator.  The  master  printer  has  to 
insist  on  copy,  preferably  type-written,  that  can  be 
read  as  quickly  as  reprint.  The  writer  who  care- 
lessly prepares  unreadable  copy  should  not  expect 
to  share  in  any  of  the  advantages  that  should  be 
had  from  the  use  of  a  quick  machine  which  has 
been  made  inefficient  by  his  neglect. 


XVIII 


ERROES  OF  THE  PRESS 


of  the  press  is  a  convenient 
phrase,  for  it  carries  with  it  a  vague 
notion  that  there  is  in  the  methods 
or  machinery  of  printing  a  perverse 
tendency  to  the  making  of  mistakes 
which  are  due  more  to  the  process  than  to  the 
man.  What  is  meant  by  the  press  is  not  clear: 
it  seems  to  be  a  factor  apart  from  the  man,  for  it 
is  seldom  any  helper  of  the  press  confesses  that 
"the  mistake  is  mine."  The  impression  is  pro- 
duced that  the  complex  organization  known  as  the 
press,  which  may  need  a  dozen  intelligent  helpers 
between  the  author  and  the  bookbinder,  and  many 
unintelligent  contributors  from  the  types  to  the 
printing-machines,  has  acquired  some  measure  of 
independent  activity  through  combination,  permit- 
ting it  to  wander  away  in  a  forbidden  path  which 

345 


346      Boastfulness  of  the  early  printers 

could  not  be  foreseen  or  prevented.  That  no  one 
should  be  held  responsible  for  some  forms  of  mis- 
print (another  convenient  phrase)  is  a  comfortable 
doctrine  for  the  authors,  compositors,  and  proof- 
readers who  work  with  haste  and  negligence,  for 
the  press  is  inanimate  and  cannot  respond.  The 
silent  are  always  wrong. 

Another  belief  has  been  fostered  in  the  mind  of 
the  reader:  that  printing  in  its  early  days  was 
done  much  better  than  it  is  now ;  that  books  were 
printed  more  accurately  when  the  methods  and 
machinery  of  the  art  were  simpler,  when  printers 
and  publishers  were  men  of  high  scholarship  and 
had  more  intimate  intercourse  with  the  literati  of 
their  time.  This  belief  has  no  good  basis.  The 
demigods  of  typography  are  like  the  demigods  of 
so-called  history:  the  greatest  are  those  who  are 
at  the  greatest  distance.  Not  much  research  is 
needed  to  show  that  demigods  of  all  kinds  do  not 
belong  to  history  but  to  fiction,  and  that  errors  of 
the  press  were,  to  say  the  least,  quite  as  common 
in  the  early  days  of  typography  as  they  are  now. 

With  a  few  exceptions,  the  early  printers  were 
foolishly  boastful.  They  bragged  of  the  superior 
beauty  of  their  types  and  the  greater  accuracy  of 
their  texts.  Gutenberg,  first  and  best  of  all,  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  one  who  refused  to  magnify 
himself.  Printing  had  been  practised  less  than 
twenty  years  when  Peter  Schoeffer,  the  surviving 
member  of  the  triumvirate  who  developed  the  art, 


Errata  common  in  early  editions       347 

in  his  edition  of  the  Institutes  of  Justinian  of  1468, 
reminded  his  readers  that  he  paid  great  sums  to 
the  wise  men  who  corrected  his  texts,  but  he  adds 
that  there  were  even  then  rival  printers  who  did 
not  take  proper  precautions  against  errors  of  the 
press.  It  may  be  assumed  that  Gabriel  Petrus  of 
Venice  was  one  of  the  growing  number  of  negli- 
gent printers,  for  he  published  a  book  in  1478  with 
two  pages  of  errata.  Before  the  fifteenth  century 
closed,  lists  of  errata  were  frequent.  Sometimes 
errors  were  so  numerous  that  the  faulty  book  had 
to  be  reprinted.  Robert  Gaguin  of  Paris  was  so 
disgusted  with  the  mistakes  made  by  a  printer  of 
that  city  in  an  edition  of  French  legends  (1497) 
that  he  ordered  a  second  edition  from  a  printer  of 
Lyons,  but  the  change  of  printer  was  not  happy : 
the  reprinted  book  was  as  faulty  as  the  first. 

Cardinal  Bellarmine  of  Rome  had  a  provoking 
experience  in  1581.  He  cancelled  the  first  edition 
of  his  book  printed  at  Rome,  and  sent  an  amended 
copy  to  a  printer  of  Venice,  hoping  to  get  abso- 
lutely perfect  work,  but  the  new  edition  was  also 
full  of  errors. 

A  book  of  Picus  Mirandola,  printed  at  Strasburg 
in  1507,  in  the  real  cradle  of  typography,  contains 
fifteen  pages  of  errata. 

The  fullest  list  of  errata  known  is  that  of  a  book 
called  The  Anatomy  of  the  Mass,  printed  in  1561. 
This  book  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  pages 
is  followed  by  errata  covering  fifteen  pages.  In 


348     Errors  in  early  editions  of  the  Bible 

apology,  the  writer  says  the  errors  were  caused  by 
the  malice  of  the  devil,  who  had  allowed  the  manu- 
script to  be  drenched  with  water  and  made  almost 
illegible  before  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
printers.  Not  content  with  this,  the  devil  insti- 
gated the  printers  to  commit  a  surprising  number 
of  inexcusable  blunders. 

Books  of  authority  and  reference  made  in  the  six- 
teenth centuiy  were  quite  as  full  of  errors  as  more 
unpretentious  work.  Joseph  Scaliger  said  that  he 
would  frequently  make  a  bet  that  he  could  find 
an  error  on  any  chance-selected  page  of  the  Greek 
Lexicon  of  Robert  Constantine,  and  that  he  always 
won  the  bet.  Chevillier  adds  that  Constantine  was 
responsible  for  as  many  errors  as  the  printer. 

In  his  Memoirs,  Baron  de  Grimm  tells  of  a  French 
author  who  died  in  a  spasm  of  anger  after  he  had 
detected  more  than  three  hundred  typographical 
errors  in  a  newly  printed  copy  of  his  work. 

The  Bible,  as  a  bulky  and  frequently  reprinted 
book,  presents  exceptional  opportunity  for  error. 
An  edition  of  the  Vulgate  printed  in  1590,  and  said 
to  have  been  made  under  the  supervision  of  Pope 
Sixtus  V,  has  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being 
full  of  misprints.  Barker's  edition  of  the  Bible, 
printed  at  London  in  1632,  and  notorious  in  the 
trade  as  the  Wicked  Bible,  gives  this  rendering 
of  the  seventh  commandment :  Thou  shalt  commit 
adultery.  For  this  error,  undoubtedly  made  by  a 
malicious  compositor,  the  printer  was  fined  three 


Printing  ivas  supervised  by  censors      349 

thousand  pounds,  and  all  obtainable  copies  of  the 
edition  were  destroyed.1  To  prevent  error,  Parlia- 
ment forbade  all  unauthorized  printing  of  the  Bible. 

It  was  the  same  spirit  of  mischief -making  that 
prompted  a  woman  in  Germany  to  steal  into  her 
husband's  printing-house  by  night  and  make  an 
alteration  in  type  that  was  ready  for  the  press  by 
changing  the  German  word  Herr  to  Narr,  thereby 
perverting  the  passage  in  Genesis  iii,  16,  from 
"he  shall  be  thy  lord"  to  "he  shall  be  thy  fool." 
The  story  goes  that  she  had  to  atone  for  this  silly 
joke  with  her  life. 

Errors  of  the  press  were  and  are  not  confined  to 
any  nation.  Erasmus  said  that  the  books  printed 
in  Italy  were,  without  exception,  full  of  faults,  due 
largely  to  the  parsimony  of  publishers  who  would 
not  pay  a  proper  price  for  the  supervision  of  the 
copy.  Books  were  so  incorrectly  printed  in  Spain 
during  the  sixteenth  century  that  the  authorities 
refused  to  license  their  publication  before  they 
had  been  approved  by  a  censor  appointed  for  the 
duty.  He  required  that  all  faults  noted  by  him 
should  be  corrected  in  an  appended  list  of  errata. 
Chevillier  says  that  the  printers  of  Geneva  during 
the  sixteenth  century  used  execrable  paper  and 

i Sometimes  errata  have  been  ter's  dog."    Before  the  book  was 

purposely  made  to  gratify  per-  published,     Scarron  quarrelled 

sonal  malignity.     Paul  Scarron,  with  his  sister,  and  ordered  this 

the  French  poet  and  writer  of  erratum  to  be  added:    "Make 

burlesques,  wrote  a  book  of  po-  '  Guillemette,  my  sister's  dog ' 

ems  in  which  were  verses  dedi-  read  '  Guillemette,  my  dog  of  a 

cated  to  "Guillemette,  my  sis-  sister.'" 


350          The  judgment  of  early  critics 

made  the  texts  of  their  books  intolerably  incorrect. 
Even  the  famous  Christopher  Plantin  of  Antwerp 
was  not  beyond  all  reproach.  One  of  his  eulogists 
has  to  admit  sorrowfully  that  he  found  in  Plantin's 
enormous  Polyglot  Bible  many  errors  of  paging 
which  his  scholarly  proof-readers  had  overlooked. 

The  apology  of  John  Froben  of  Basle  for  his 
errata  is  really  pathetic :  "  I  do  everything  I  can 
to  produce  correct  editions.  In  this  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Greek  I  have  doubled  my  care 
and  my  vigilance ;  I  have  spared  neither  time  nor 
money.  I  have  engaged  with  difficulty  many  cor- 
rectors of  the  highest  ability,  among  them  John 
Oecolampadius,  a  professor  of  three  languages. 
Erasmus  himself  has  done  his  best  to  help  me." 
This  book  was  in  press  for  a  year,  but  after  all 
this  care  it  had  errata  of  one  and  a  half  pages. 

Erasmus  himself  charged  one  of  the  workmen 
of  Froben  with  intended  malice  in  perverting  (in 
another  book)  his  tribute  of  admiration  to  Queen 
Elizabeth  of  Hungary  to  a  passage  of  unmention- 
able obscenity.  He  declared  that  he  would  have 
given  three  hundred  crowns  in  gold  to  have  pre- 
vented the  scandalous  error. 

Examples  enough  have  been  presented  to  show 
that  errors  are  not  always  detected  by  educated 
printers  or  by  scholarly  correctors,  but  the  sum- 
ming up  may  be  left  to  earlier  writers.  Chevillier, 
writing  in  1694,  quotes  many  authors  and  printers 
in  support  of  his  proposition  that  a  book  without 


Examples  of  gross  modern  blunders    351 

an  error  is  impossible,1  and  that  early  books  do  not 
deserve  the  reputation  they  have  had  for  superior 
accuracy.  Prosper  Marehand,  writing  in  1738,  says 
that  reader  is  deceived  who  thinks  that  old  books 
are  more  correct  than  new  books ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  much  more  inaccurate. 

Errors  of  the  press  often  begin  with  errors  of 
reporters  who  have  misunderstood  spoken  words. 
The  rule  of  follow  copy  compels  the  compositor  to 
repeat  the  exact  words  written  by  the  reporter,  and 
the  following  blunders  are  the  result  of  obedience 
to  this  rule.  A  speaker  made  this  statement : 

In  these  days  clergymen  are  expected  to  have  the 
wisdom  and  learning  of  Jeremy  Taylor. 

But  the  reporter  wrote,  and  the  compositor  repeated: 
.  .  .  the  wisdom  and  learning  of  a  journeyman  tailor. 

Another  speaker  quoted  these  lines : 

0  come,  thou  goddess  fair  and  free? 
In  heaven  yclept  Euphrosyne. 

They  were  printed  as  written : 

O  come,  thou  goddess  fair  and.  free, 
In  heaven  she  crept  and  froze  her  knee. 

Another  orator  quoted  this  line  from  Tennyson's 
Locksley  Hall : 

Better  fifty  years  of  Europe  than  a  cycle  of  Cathay. 

i  Whoever  thinks  a  faultless  piece  to  see, 
Thinks  what  ne'er  was,  nor  is,  nor  e'er  shall  be. 

Pope. 


352    Examples  of  gross  modern  blunders 

But  the  quotation  was  written  and  printed : 
Better  fifty  years  of  Europe  than  a  circus  in  Bombay. 

One  of  the  worst  perversions  of  a  hackneyed  quo- 
tation (incorrectly  given  by  the  speaker)  is  this, 
which  seems  to  be  the  joint  work  of  the  zealous 
reporter  and  the  equally  reckless  printer  : 

Amicus  Plato,  amicus  Socrates,  sed  major  veritas. 
I  may  cuss  Plato,  I  may  cuss  Socrates,  said  Major  Veritas. 

Here  are  other  illustrations  of  the  great  danger  of 
following  the  sound  regardless  of  the  sense : 

Those  lovely  eyes  bedimmed. 

Those  lovely  eyes  be  damned. 
Behold  the  martyr  in  a  sheet  of  fire ! 
Behold  the  martyr  in  a  shirt  on  fire ! 

This  battle-scarred  veteran. 

This  battle-scared  veteran.1 

A  congressman  advocated  grants  of  public  lands, 
not  to  railroad  corporations,  but  to  "  actual  settlers." 
The  tired  translator  of  the  telegraphic  report  of  the 
speech  construed  the  last  words  as  "  cattle  stealers." 

An  editor  closed  his  leader  concerning  some  mu- 
nicipal abuse  that  he  wished  to  reform  with  the 
quoted  Latin  lament,  o  temporal  o  mores!  which 
the  compositor  transformed  to  "  O  temperance  !  O 
Moses  ! "  and  it  was  so  printed. 

A  reporter  of  a  trial  tried  to  write  that  "  the  jury 

1  Pendleton,  Newspaper  Reporting,  pp.  172-183. 


Examples  of  gross  modern  blunders     353 

disagreed  and  were  discharged,"  but  he  wrote  indis- 
tinctly, and  the  compositor  construed  the  writing 
into  "  the  jury  disappeared  and  were  disgraced." 

A  petitioner  appealed  to  a  legislature  as  "  indi- 
viduals "  as  well  as  lawmakers.  He  wrote  illegibly, 
and  the  clerk  read  "  indian  devils  "  instead  of  indi- 
viduals, much  to  the  indignation  of  the  assembly. 

Drew J  attributes  these  blunders  to  bad  writing : 

The  book  Typographical  Antiquities  was  cited  as 
Typographical  Ambiguities. 

In  testimony  concerning  a  compound  microscope 
the  witness  said  that  its  efficiency  would  vary  with 
the  power  of  the  "  eye-piece  "  employed.  Eye-piece 
was  too  carelessly  written,  and  the  compositor  ren- 
dered it  as  lye-juice. 

At  a  public  dinner  this  toast  was  offered  to  the 
President,  "  May  he  live  to  a  green  old  age."  But 
it  was  printed,  "  May  he  live  to  a  grim  old  age." 

The  last  words  of  the  poorly  written  sentence, 
"Alone  and  isolated,  man  would  become  impotent 
and  perish,"  were  not  understood  by  the  compositor, 
and  they  were  printed  as  "  impatient  and  peevish." 

A  bloody  battle  was  so  described  in  a  newspaper : 

It  was  fearful  to  see.  The  men  fell  in  ranks  and 
marched  in  pantaloons  to  their  final  account. 

It  is  probable  that  the  compositor  did  not  know 
the  word  platoon,  and  thought  it  proper  to  make 

1  Pens  and  Types,  pp.  16-24. 


354        Why  compositors  cannot  correct 

this  foolish  correction.  It  must  have  been  a  raw 
compositor  of  this  class  who  set  Dogs  of  the  Seine 
for  Days  of  the  League,  and  parboiled  sceptic  for 
purblind  sceptic.  These  wild  guesses  at  the  mean- 
ing of  the  writer  had  to  be  hazarded  when  writing 
was  indistinct. 

Many  pages  could  be  filled  with  illustrations  of 
similar  blunders— some  silly  or  unmeaning,  others 
frightful  or  blasphemous — but  in  most  instances 
it  is  evident  that  the  blunders  were  the  outcome 
of  careless  or  illegible  writing.  The  compositor 
who  is  told  to  follow  copy  learns  to  do  so  mechani- 
cally, even  if  his  rendering  does  not  "  make  sense." 

A  critical  reader  may  ask  why  the  master  printer 
does  not  employ  compositors  of  more  intelligence 
who  can  correctly  divine  an  obscure  word  after 
their  reading  of  the  context.  This  expedient  is 
impracticable.  Publishers  decided  long  ago  that 
the  composition  of  books  is  so  largely  mechanical 
that  it  can  be  done  well  enough  (after  its  correc- 
tion by  a  reader)  by  men  of  limited  experience  and 
ability,  or  even  by  boys  or  girls.  The  pay  offered 
is  small ;  the  piece-compositor  on  book-work  does 
not  earn,  even  at  the  prices  authorized  by  the  trade- 
unions,  as  much  as  journeymen  mechanics  in  other 
trades.  Expert  compositors  refuse  to  do  the  piece- 
work of  books ;  they  seek  and  find  steady  employ- 
ment at  fixed  wages  by  the  week  on  job-work  or 
as  operators  of  type-setting  machines.  It  follows 
that  book  composition  by  hand  has  to  be  done  by 


Errors  sometimes  passed  by  readers    355 

young  men  and  women  of  limited  experience,  or 
by  elderly  persons  who  have  outgrown  all  desire 
to  improve  the  quality  of  their  workmanship  or  to 
qualify  themselves  for  better-paid  situations. 

The  irresponsibility  of  the  inexpert  compositor 
is  largely  increased  by  his  consciousness  that  there 
is  in  the  house  a  proof-reader  whose  business  it  is 
to  correct  all  his  faults.  Compositors  of  all  grades 
would  make  fewer  mistakes  if  they  had  to  pay  a 
proper  penalty  for  all  wilfully  slighted  composition. 
Contrary  to  prophecies  made  some  years  ago,  type- 
setting machines  have  proved  to  be  aids  to  correct 
composition.  The  operator  who  makes  an  error  in 
every  other  line,  as  is  not  uncommon  in  hand  com- 
position, is  soon  required  to  give  up  his  machine. 
To  be  advantageous,  the  machine  must  be  operated 
by  a  workman  who  does  not  average  many  errors 
to  a  paragraph. 

Even  when  exceeding  care  has  been  taken  in  the 
selection  of  able  compositors  and  readers,  there  is 
liability  to  error  from  oversights  and  unforeseen 
accidents.  Crapelet x  tells  us  of  the  sore  distress  of 
his  father  in  discovering  the  error  of  Pelenope  for 
Penelope,  in  a  treatise  which  he  had  carefully  read 
three  times  with  intent  to  make  it  in  all  points  a 
faultless  book.  He  had  read  it  too  often ;  he  did 
not  have  the  assistance  of  a  second  reader ;  and  his 
memory  failed  when  most  needed.  Even  the  care- 
ful reader  may  pass  unobserved  the  transposition  of 

1  Etudes  pratiques  et  litteraires  sur  la  typographic,  p.  233. 


356  Errors  made  in  correcting 

letters  or  syllables  in  a  proper  name.  Looking  too 
intently  on  one  object  does  not  always  make  that 
object  more  distinct ;  it  may  produce  a  temporary 
obscurity.  Proof  read  and  corrected  too  often  by 
one  reader  only  may  have  errors  in  the  last  proof 
that  did  not  exist  in  the  first. 

A  page  of  the  ordinary  book  consists  of  at  least 
one  thousand  and  sometimes  of  five  thousand  dis- 
tinct pieces  of  metal.  The  omission  or  the  trans- 
position of  any  one  makes  a  fault  which  may  be 
serious.  Printing-house  rules  for  meddling  with 
type  are  not  sufficiently  stringent.  No  one  should 
be  allowed  to  touch  type  but  the  workman  in  whose 
charge  it  is  placed.  Picking  up  a  type  out  of  a 
case  or  the  lifting  of  a  line  on  galley  or  in  a  form 
by  a  curiosity-seeker  should  be  regarded  as  a  real 
offence.  Gross  errors  can  be  easily  made  in  the 
transposition  of  letters  and  lines  by  unthinking 
persons  who  mean  to  do  no  mischief. 

Errors  are  frequently  made  by  the  compositor 
who  corrects  a  proof :  in  trying  to  correct  one  error 
he  may  make  another,  or  he  may  damage  adjacent 
letters.  Whenever  he  makes  any  change  in  type 
that  has  not  been  marked  on  the  proof,  he  should 
take  another  proof  and  draw  a  large  ring  with 
lead-pencil  around  the  place  of  change,  and  the 
proof-reader  should  re-read  the  entire  paragraph 
by  copy  as  if  it  were  new  composition.  A  similar 
marking  should  be  made  by  the  electrotyper  or  the 
pressman  who  has  bruised  letters  in  a  plate,  so  that 


Errors  due  to  obscure  alterations      357 

the  proof  shall  be  read  again  carefully  by  the  office 
reader.  Some  provoking  errors  are  unintention- 
ally made  by  workmen  who  think  that  the  formal 
re-reading  of  the  lines  in  which  the  battered  let- 
ters have  been  changed  is  a  waste  of  time. 

The  renewal  of  the  solid  lines  of  linotype  com- 
position calls  for  great  vigilance  from  the  reviser. 
When  the  fifth  faulty  line  of  a  paragraph  has  been 
reset  by  the  operator,  the  corrected  line  may  not 
be  put  in  its  proper  place.  Some  meddler  may  have 
pushed  other  lines  up  or  down.  It  may  be  inserted 
in  the  gap  so  made  and  appear  in  print  as  the  fourth 
or  the  seventh  line.  To  prevent  this  error  the  para- 
graph should  be  formally  re-read.  When  haste  does 
not  warrant  a  re-reading  by  copy,  the  proof  that 
has  the  fault  marked  should  be  carefully  folded 
through  the  centre  and  one  half  of  it  lapped  over 
the  new  proof,  so  that  their  proper  connection  will 
be  visible  at  a  glance. 

Authors  who  correct  the  final  proof  with  a  lead- 
pencil  provoke  the  making  of  new  errors.  They 
note  an  error  in  phrasing  and  write  down  the  cor- 
rection. After  re-reading  this  correction  they  see 
that  it  does  not  fully  convey  the  meaning  intended. 
The  first  pencil  markings  are  rubbed  out  and  other 
words  take  their  place.  Sometimes  two  or  three 
alterations  have  to  be  made,  and  all  are  written  over 
markings  previously  made.  Repeated  rubbing  out 
makes  the  writing  illegible  and  liable  to  perver- 
sion. Sometimes  an  addition  is  made  to  a  singular 
23 


358 


A  real  error  of  the  press 


nominative  which  should  compel  the  selection  of 
a  plural  form  of  verb  or  pronoun  in  the  words 
that  precede  or  follow,  but  the  plural  forms  may  be 
and  often  are  overlooked.  When  the  press  is  kept 
waiting  for  this  final  proof,  it  is  possible  that  the 
errors  corrected  will  be  those  only  that  are  marked 
in  the  proof.  It  follows  that  the  author  as  well  as 
the  printer  has  to  suffer  the  stigma  of  an  inexcus- 
able violation  of  plain  grammatical  rules.1 


i  Here  is  the  story  of  an  error 
not  made  by  a  compositor  or 
reader,  pressman  or  mischief- 
maker.  An  author,  intent  on 
having  an  immaculate  book, 
and  not  content  with  the  official 
reading  of  the  printing-house, 
had  the  last  proof  revised  by 
another  expert  reader,  who  cer- 
tified that  the  last  reading  was 
without  fault.  The  book  was 
printed,  bound,  and  distributed, 
and  bragged  of  as  a  book  with- 
out an  error.  A  year  after  pub- 
lication the  author,  in  making  a 
cursory  reexamination  of  the 
work,  discovered  this  phrase, 
"his  too  nasty  steps."  Filled 
with  anger  and  alarm,  he  went 
to  the  printing-house  and  de- 
manded the  reason  why  this 
shocking  alteration  had  been 
made.  The  last  proof  was  found 
and  it  plainly  showed  that  the 
phrase  was  "his  too  hasty  steps." 
It  was  clear  that  a  change  had 
been  made  after  the  final  read- 
ing, and  possibly  in  the  electro- 


type plate.  The  plate  was  sent 
for,  and,  when  closely  examined 
under  a  magnifying-glass,  re- 
vealed the  origin  of  the  error. 
The  solder  which  fastened  the 
copper  shell  to  the  lead  base 
had  a  minute  air-bubble  under 
the  top  of  this  letter  h,  which 
was  unseen  and  unsuspected  by 
the  electrotyper.  Some  copies 
of  the  book  (how  many  could 
not  be  ascertained)  showed  this 
letter  h  accurately,  but  after 
several  perfect  copies  had  been 
printed,  a  knot  in  the  paper  or 
a  grain  of  sand  or  plaster  had 
fallen  over  the  top  of  this  letter 
h,  and  had  crushed  or  depressed 
it  in  the  hollow  air-bubble  be- 
low, practically  changing  it  to 
the  letter  n.  This  depression  of 
the  letter  h  was  too  small  a  fault 
to  be  noticed  by  the  pressman, 
who  could  give  but  a  glance  at 
the  sheets  when  the  press  was 
printing  apparently  faultless 
copies  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  in  a 
minute. 


APPENDIX 


Comparative  list  of  variations  in  spelling  compiled  from 
the  American  dictionaries  known  as  the  Century, 
Standard,  Webster's  International,  and  Worcester; 
and  the  English  dictionaries  known  as  Stormonth's, 
the  Imperial,  and  the  New  English  Dictionary  on 
Historical  Principles,  oftener  called  the  Oxford. 

The  hyphens  in  words  under  the  heading  of  Divisions 
indicate  the  divisions  that  are  generally  acceptable.  In 
most  of  them,  the  mark  '  which  shows  the  emphasized 
syllable  may  be  accepted  as  a  substitute  for  the  hyphen, 
and  a  proper  place  for  the  division  of  a  word ;  but  it 
should  not  be  taken  as  authorizing  divisions  like  ban- 
dan'a  or  i'dol-ize  when  it  sets  apart  a  syllable  of  one 
letter.  For  the  same  reason,  the  hyphen  is  omitted  and 
a  space  is  inserted  in  words  like  ar'mor  y.  Divisions  on 
two  letters,  and  sometimes  on  one  letter,  are  grudgingly 
permitted  in  very  narrow  measures  only. 

British  usage  with  regard  to  words  ending  in  -ize  is 
undergoing  change.  Stormonth  prefers  -ise,  but  in  the 
new  Oxford  dictionary  Dr.  Murray  says  that,  whatever 
the  element  to  which  it  is  added,  "-ize  is  in  its  origin 
the  Greek  -i^eiv,  Latin  -izare;  and  as  the  pronunciation 
is  also  with  z,  there  is  no  reason  why  in  English  the 
special  French  spelling  [-iser]  should  be  followed  in 
opposition  to  that  which  is  at  once  etymological  and 
phonetic."  A  complete  list  of  participles  has  been  found 
impossible  in  the  restricted  space,  but  the  system  of  par- 
ticipial formation  adopted  by  each  dictionary  has  been 
fairly  indicated. 

361 


362      Comparative  list  of  variable 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

abridgment 

abridgment 

abridgment 

abridgment 

acclimatize 

acclimatize 

acclimatize 

acclimatize 

accoutre 

accouter 

accouter 

accoutre 

accoutred 

accoutered 

accoutered 

accoutred 

accoutring 

accoutering 

accoutering 

accoutring 

accoutrement 

accouterment 

accouterment 

accoutrement 

acknowledgment 

acknowledgment 

ackn  owledgment 

acknowledgme  tit 

aggrandize 

aggrandize 

aggrandize 

aggrandize 

agistor 

agistor 

agister 

agistor 

agrarianize 

agrarianize 

agrarianize 

agrarianize 

aide-de-camp 

aide-de-camp 

aid-de-camp 

aide-de-camp 

alkalize 

alkalize 

alkalize 

alkalize 

aluminium 

aluminum 

aluminium 

aluminium 

amortize 

amortize 

amortize 

amoi-tise 

amphitheater 

amphitheater 

amphitheater 

amphitheatre 

anabaptize 

anabaptize 

anabaptize 

anabaptize 

analyze 

analyze 

analyze 

analyze 

anathematize 

anathematize 

anathematize 

anathematize 

anatomize 

anatomize 

anatomize 

anatomize 

anemia 

anemia 

anasmia 

anaemia 

anemic 

anemic 

anaemic 

anaemic 

anesthetic 

anesthetic 

anaesthetic 

anaesthetic 

anesthetize 

anesthetize 

anaesthetize 

anaesthetize 

animalize 

animalize 

animalize 

animalize 

antagonize 

antagonize 

antagonize 

antagonize 

apodictic 

apodictic 

apodeictic 

apodictic 

apologize 

apologize 

apologize 

apologize 

apostatize 

apostatize 

apostatize 

apostatize 

apostem 

apostem 

aposteme 

aposteme 

appal 

appal 

appall 

appall 

arbor 

arbor 

arbor 

arbor 

ardor 

ardor 

ardor 

ardor 

1  A  spelling  more  in  accordance  with  English 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     363 


Stormonth 
abridgment 
acclimatise 

Imperial 
abridgment 
acclimatize 

Oxford 
abridgement1 
acclimatize 

Divisions 
a  bridg'ment 
ac-cli'ma-tize 

accoutre 

accoutre 

accoutre 

ac-cou'tre 

accoutred 

accoutred 

accoutred 

ac-cou'tred 

accoutring 
accoutrement 

accoutring 
accoutrement 

accoutring 
accoutrement 

ac-cou'tring 
ac-cou'tre-ment 

acknowledgment 

aggrandise 
agistor 

acknowledgment 

aggrandize 
agister 

acknowledgement1 

aggrandize 
agistor 

ac-know'ledg-ment 

ag'gran-dize 
a  gist'or 

agrariauise 
aide-de-camp 
alkalise 

agrarianize 
aide-de-camp 
alkalize 

agrarianize 
aide-de-camp 
alkalize 

a  gra'ri-an-ize 
al'ka-lize 

aluminum 

aluminium 

aluminium 

al-u-min'i-um 

amortise 

amortize 

amortize 

a  mor'tize 

amphitheatre 
anabaptise 
analyse 
anathematise 

amphitheatre 
anabaptize 
analyse 
anathematize 

amphitheatre 
anabaptize 
analyse 
anathematize 

am-phi-the'a-ter 
an-a-bap-tize' 
an'a-lyze 
a  nath'e-ma-tize 

anatomise 

anatomize 

anatomize 

a  nat'o-mize 

anaemia 

anaemia 

anaemia 

a  ne'nii  a 

anaemic 

anaemic 

anaemic 

a  nem'ic 

anaesthetic 

anaesthetic 

anaesthetic 

an-es-thet'ic 

anaesthetise 

anaesthetize 

anaesthetize 

an-es'the-tize 

animalise 

animalize 

animalize 

an'i-mal-ize 

antagonise 
apodictic 
apologise 
apostatise 
aposteme 
appal 
arbour 

antagonize 
apodeictic 
apologize 
apostatize 
aposteme 
appal 
arbour 

antagonize 
apodictic 
apologize 
apostatize 
apostem 
appal 
arbour 

an-tag'o-nize 
ap-o-dic'tic 
a  pol'o-gize 
a  pos'ta-tize 
ap'o-stem 
ap-pal' 
ar'bor 

ardour 

ardour 

ardour 

ar'dor 

values  of  letters. 

JYi  'a-  English  Dictionary. 

364      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

armor 

armor 

armor 

armor 

armory 
asafetida 

armory 
asafetida 

armory 
asafetida 

armory 
assafoetida 

asbestos 

asbestos 

asbestus 

asbestos 

ascendancy 
atropin 
attitudinize 

ascendency 
atropin 
attitudinize 

ascendency 
atropine 
attitudinize 

ascendancy 
atropine 
attitudinize 

authorize 

authorize 

authorize 

authorize 

avoset 

avocet 

avocet 

avoset 

ax 

ax 

ax 

axe 

ay  (forever) 

ay 

aye 

aye 

aye  (ye.) 
azotize 

aye 
azotize 

aye 
azotize 

ay 
azotize 

bakshish 

bakshish 

backsheesh 

bukshish 

bandana 

bandanna 

bandanna 

bandanna 

banian  (tree) 
bannerol 

banian 
banderole 

banyan 
banderole 

banian 
bannerol 

baptize 
bassinet 

baptize 
bassinet 

baptize 
bassinet 

baptize 
bassinet 

bastardize 

bastardize 

bastardize 

bastardize 

bastile  l 

bastile 

bastile 

bastile 

baudekin 

baudekin 

baudekin 

baudekin 

bawbee 

bawbee 

bawbee 

baubee 

beadsman 

beadsman 

beadsman 

beadsman 

behavior 

behavior 

behavior 

behavior 

belabor 

belabor 

belabor 

belabor 

beveled 

beveled 

beveled 

bevelled 

beveling 
bhang 
biased 

beveling 
bhang 
biased 

beveling 
bhang 
biased 

bevelling 
bang 
biassed 

bichlorid 

bichlorid 

bichloride 

bichloride 

1  For  the  historical  prison  of  Paris,  always 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     365 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

armour 

armour 

armour 

ar'mor 

armoury 
asafcetida 

armoury 
asafetida 

armoury 
asafoetida 

ar'mor  y 
as-a-fet'i-da 

asbestos 

asbestos 

asbestos 

as-bes'tos 

ascendency 
atropine 
attitudinise 

ascendency 
atropin 
attitudinize 

ascendancy 
atropine 
attitudinize 

a  scen'dan-cy 
at'ro-pin 
at-ti-tu'di-nize 

authorise 

authorize 

authorize 

au'thor-ize 

avocet 

avoset 

avocet 

av'o-set 

axe 

axe 

ax 

aye 

aye 

ay 

ay 

azotise 

ay 

azotize 

aye 

azotize 

az'o-tize 

backshish 

bakshish 

baksheesh 

bak'shish 

bandana 

bandana 

bandanna 

ban-dan'a 

banyan 
bandrol 

banyan 
banderole 

banyan 
bannerol 

ban'ian 
ban'ner-ol 

baptise 
bassinette 

baptize 
bassinet 

baptize 
bassinet 

bap-tize' 
bas'si-net 

bastardise 

bastardize 

bastardize 

bas'tar-dize 

bastile 

bastile 

bastille 

bas-tile' 

baudekyn 
bawbee 

baudekin 
bawbee 

baudekin 
bawbee 

bau'de-kin 
baw-bee' 

bedesman 

beads-man 

beadsman 

beads'man 

behaviour 

behaviour 

behaviour 

be-ha'vior 

belabour 

belabour 

belabour 

be-la'bor 

bevelled 

bevelled 

bevelled 

bev'el-ed 

bevelling 
bangue 
biassed 

bevelling 
bhang 
biassed 

bevelling 
bhang 
biased 

bev'el-ing 
bi'as-ed 

bichloride 

bichloride 

bichloride 

bi-chlo'rid 

capitalized  and  in  the  French  form, 

Bastille. 

366      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

bicolored 

bicolored 

bicolored 

bicolored 

bisque 

bisque 

bisque 

bisque 

bogie  (coal-wagon) 

bogie 

bogie 

bogie 

bogy  (goblin) 

bogy 

bogey 

bogie 

bombazine 

bombazine 

bombazine 

bombazine 

botanize 

botanize 

botanize 

botanize 

boulder 

boulder 

bowlder 

boulder 

Brahman 

Brahman 

Brahman 

Brahmin 

braize 

braize 

braise 

braise 

brocatel 

brocatel 

brocatel 

brocatel 

brusk 

brusk 

brusque 

brusque 

brutalize 

brutalize 

brutalize 

brutalize 

bucaneer 

buccaneer 

buccaneer 

buccaneer 

buncombe 

buncombe 

buncombe 

buncombe 

burgeon 

burgeon 

bourgeon 

burgeon 

butyrin 

butyrin 

butyrin 

butyrine 

caboshed 

caboched 

caboched 

caboshed 

cacique 

cacique 

cazique 

cazique 

cacodyl 

cacodyl 

cacodyl 

cacodyl 

cadaster 

cadaster 

cadastre 

cadastre 

caddis 

caddis 

caddice 

caddice 

caffein 

caffein 

caffeine 

caffeine 

caliber 

caliber 

caliber 

caliber 

calif 

calif 

caliph 

caliph 

califate 

califate 

caliphate 

caliphate 

calligraphy 

calligraphy 

calligraphy 

calligraphy 

callisthenics 

callisthenics 

calisthenics 

calisthenics 

cancelation 

cancelation 

cancellation 

cancellation 

canceler 

canceler 

canceler 

canceller 

candor 

candor 

candor 

candor 

cantaliver 

cantilever 

cantalever 

cantilever 

"  Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     367 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

bicoloured 

bicoloured 

bicoloured 

bi'col-or-ed 

bisk 

bisque 

bisque 

bogey 

bogie 

bogie 

bo'gie 

bogy 

bogey 

bogy 

bo'gy 

bombasine 

bombasin 

bombasine 

bom-ba-zine' 

botanise 

botanize 

botanize 

bot'a-nize 

Vjoulder 

boulder 

boulder 

boul'der 

Brahman 

Brahman 

Brahmin 

Brah'man 

braise 

braise 

braise 

brocatel 

brocatelle 

broc'a-tel 

brusque 

brusk 

brusque 

brutalise 

brutalize 

brutalize 

bru'tal-ize 

buccaneer 

bucaneer 

buccaneer 

buc-a-neer' 

bunkum 

bunkum 

buncombe 

bun'combe 

bourgeon 

bourgeon 

burgeon 

bur'geon 

butyrin 

butyrin 

butyrin 

bu'ty-rin 

caboched 

caboched 

caboched 

ca-bosh'ed 

cazique 

cazique 

cacique 

ca-cique' 

cacodyle 

kakodyle 

cacodyl 

cac'o-dyl 

cadaster 

cadastre 

cadastre 

ca-das'ter 

caddis 

caddice 

caddis 

cad'dis 

caffeine 

caffeine 

caffeine 

caf'fe-in 

calibre 

calibre 

calibre 

cal'i-ber 

caliph 

calif 

caliph 

ca'lif 

caliphate 

califate 

caliphate 

ca'lif-ate 

caligraphy 

calligraphy 

calligraphy 

cal-lig'ra-phy 

calisthenics 

callisthenics 

callisthenics 

cal-lis-then'ics 

cancellation 

cancellation 

cancellation 

can-cel-a'tion 

canceller 

canceller 

canceller 

can'cel-er 

candour 

candour 

candour 

can'dor 

cantalever 

cantaliver 

cantilever 

can'ta-liv-er 

368      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
cantillate 

Standard 
cantillate 

Webster 
cantillate 

Worcester 
cantilate 

cantrip 
capercaillie 
carbonade 

cantrip 
capercailzie 
carbonado 

cantrap 
capercailzie 
carbonado 

cantrap 
capercailzie 
carbonado 

caroled 

caroled 

caroled 

carolled 

cartouche 

cartouch 

cartouch 

cartouch 

casein 

casein 

casein 

caseine 

cassava 

cassava 

cassava 

cassava 

catechize 

catechize 

catechise 

catechise 

causeway 
cauterize 

causeway 
cauterize 

causeway 
cauterize 

causey 
cauterize 

cavezon 

cavesson 

cavesson 

cavesson 

ca  viler 

ca  viler 

ca  viler 

caviller 

celiac 

celiac 

coeliac 

ereliac 

center 

center 

center 

centre 

centigram 
centiped 
centralize 

centigram 
centiped 
centralize 

centigram 
centiped 
centralize 

centigramme 
centiped 
centralize 

cerosin 

cerosin 

cerosin 

cerosine 

cesura 

cesura 

caesura 

caesura 

channeled 

channeled 

channeled 

channelled 

characterize 

characterize 

characterize 

characterize 

chartographer  chartographer 
chetah               chetah 

cartographer 
cheetah 

cartographer 
cheeta 

chiaroscuro 

chiaroscuro 

chiaroscuro 

chiaro-oscuro 

chlorid 

chlorid 

chloride 

chloride 

chlorin 

chlorin 

chlorine 

chlorine 

chlorophyl 
cithern 

chlorophyl 
cithern 

chlorophyll 
cittern 

chlorophyl 
cittern 

clamor 

clamor 

clamor 

clamor 

clangor 
clarinet 

clangor 
clarinet 

clangor 
clarinet 

clangor 
clarinet 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     369 


Star  month 
cantillate 

Imperial 
cantillate 

Oxford 
cantillate 

Divisions 
can'til-late 

cantrip 
capercailzie 
carbonado 

cantrip 
capercailzie 
carbonade 

cantrip 
capercailye 
carbonado 

can  'trip 
ca-per-cail'lie 
car-bo-nade' 

carolled 

carolled 

caroled 

car'ol-ed 

cartouch 

cartouch 

cartouche 

car-touche' 

caseine 

casein 

casein 

ca'se-in 

casava 

cassava 

cassava 

cas-sa'va 

catechise 

catechise 

catechize 

cat'e-chize 

causeway 
cauterise 

causeway 
cauterize 

causeway 
cauterize 

cause'way 
cau'ter-ize 

cavesson 

cavezon 

cavesson 

cav'e-zon 

caviller 

caviller 

caviller 

cav'il-er 

coeliac 

cceliac 

coeliac 

ce'li-ac 

centre 

centre 

centre 

cen'ter 

centigramme 
centipede 
centralise 

centigramme 
centiped 
centralize 

centigramme 
centipede 
centralize 

cen'ti-gram 
cen'ti-ped 
cen'tral-ize 

cerosine 

cerosin 

cerosin 

ce-ro'sin 

caesura 

caesura 

caesura 

ce-su'ra 

channeled 

channelled 

channelled 

chan'nel-ed 

characterise 

characterize 

characterize 

char'ac-ter-ize 

chartographer 
cheetah 

chartographer 
chetah 

cartographer 
cheetah 

char-tog'ra-pher 
che'tah 

chiaro-oscuro 

chiaroscuro 

chiaroscuro 

chia-ros-cu'ro 

chloride 

chloride 

chloride 

chlo'rid 

chlorine 

chlorine 

chlorine 

chlo'rin 

chlorophyll 
cithern 

chlorophyll 
cittern 

chlorophyll 
cithern 

chlo'ro-phyl 
cith'ern 

clamour- 

clamour 

clamour 

clam'or 

clangour 
clarionet 

clangour 
clarinet 

clangor 
clarinet 

clan'gor 
clar'i-net 

370      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

clearstory 

clearstory 

clearstory 

clear-story 

clue 

clue 

clew 

clew 

cognizance 

cognizance 

cognizance 

cognizance 

cognizant 

cognizant 

cognizant 

cognizant 

colonize 

colonize 

colonize 

colonize 

color 

color 

color 

color 

complin 

complin 

compline 

compline 

coolie 

coolie 

cooly 

cooly 

coraled 

coraled 

coraled 

coralled 

corbeled 

corbeled 

corbeled 

corbelled 

corbeling 

corbeling 

corbeling 

corbelling 

corbie 

corbie 

corbie 

corby 

coryphaeus 

corypheus 

corypheus 

corypheus 

cotillion 

cotillion 

cotillon 

cotillon 

councilor 

councilor 

councilor 

councillor 

counselor 

counselor 

counselor 

counsellor 

courtezan 

courtezan 

courtesan 

courtesan 

cozy 

cozy 

cozy 

cosey 

crenelate 

crenelate 

crenelate 

crenellate 

creosote 

creosote 

creosote 

creosote 

criticize 

criticize 

criticise 

criticise 

crozier 

crozier 

crosier 

crosier 

crystallize 

crystallize 

crystallize 

crystallize 

Curasao 

curacoa 

curacoa 

cura£oa 

cyclopedia 

cyclopedia 

cyclopedia 

cyclopaedia 

dandyize  dandyize  dandyize  dandyize 

dastardize  dastardize  dastardize  dastardize 

debris  d6bris  debris  debris 

decarbonize  decarbonize  decarbonize  decarbonize 

dechristianize  dechristianize  dechristianize  dechristianize 

decimalize  decimalize  decimalize  decimalize 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     371 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

clerestory 

clear-story 

clerestory 

clear'sto-ry 

clue 

clue 

clue 

cognisance 

cognizance 

cognizance 

cog'ni-zance 

cognisant 

cognizant 

cognizant 

cog'ni-zant 

colonise 

colonize 

colonize 

col'o-nize 

colour 

colour 

colour 

eol'or 

compline 

compline 

complin 

com'plin 

coolie 

coolie 

coolie 

coo'lie 

coralled 

coralled 

coralled 

cor'al-ed 

corbelled 

corbelled 

corbelled 

cor'bel-ed 

corbelling 

corbelling 

corbelling 

cor'bel-ing 

corbie 

corby 

corbie 

cor'bie 

corypheus 

corypheus 

coryphaeus 

cor-y-phse'us 

cotillon 

cotillon 

cotillion 

co-til'lion 

councillor 

councillor 

councillor 

coun'cil-or 

counsellor 

counsellor 

counsellor 

coun'sel-or 

courtesan 

courtezan 

courtesan 

cour'te-zan 

cosey 

cosey 

cosy 

co'zy 

crenelate 

crenellate 

crenellate 

cren'el-ate 

creasote 

creasote 

creosote 

cre'o-sote 

criticise 

criticise 

criticize 

crit'i-cize 

crosier 

crozier 

crosier 

cro'zier 

crystallise 

crystallize 

crystallize 

crys'tal-lize 

curacoa 

curacoa 

Curasao 

cu-ra-c.ao' 

cyclopedia 

cyclopaedia 

cyclopaedia 

cy-clo-pe'di  a 

dandyise 

dandyize 

dandyize 

dan'dy-ize 

dastardise 

dastardize 

dastardize 

das'tar-dize 

debris 

debris 

debris 

de-bris' 

decarbonise 

decarbonize 

decarbonize 

de-car'bon-ize 

dechristianise 

dechristianize 

dechristianize 

de-chris'tian-ize 

decimalise 

decimalize 

decimalize 

dec'i-mal-ize 

372      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
decolor 

Standard 
decolor 

Webster 
decolor 

Worcester 
decolor 

decolorize 

decolorize 

decolorize 

decolorize 

dedal 

dedal 

daedal 

deedal 

dedalian 

dedalian 

daedalian 

dsedalian 

defense 

defense 

defense 

defence 

demeanor 

demeanor 

demeanor 

demeanor 

demobilize 

demobilize 

demobilize 

demobilize 

demonetize 

demonetize 

demonetize 

demonetize 

demonize 

demonize 

demonize 

demonize 

demoralize 

demoralize 

demoralize 

demoralize 

denationalize 

denationalize 

denationalize 

denationalize 

denaturalize 

denaturalize 

denaturalize 

denaturalize 

dentin 

dentin 

dentine 

dentine 

dentize 

dentize 

dentize 

dentize 

deodorize 

deodorize 

deodorize 

deodorize 

deoxidize 

deoxidize 

deoxidize 

deoxidize 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
despatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
despatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
dispatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
despatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

devilize 

devilize 

devilize 

devilize 

diabolize 

diabolize 

diabolize 

diabolize 

dialing 
dialogize 
diarize 

dialing 
dialogize 
diarize 

dialing 
dialogize 
diarize 

dialing 
dialogize 
diarize 

diarrhea 

diarrhea 

diarrhea 

diarrhoea 

diarrhetic 

diarrhetic 

diarrhetic 

diarrhoetic 

dicky 

dickey 

dickey 

dicky 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     373 


Stormonth 
decolour 

Imperial 
decolour 

Oxford 
decolour 

Divisions 
de-col'or 

decolourise 

decolorize 

decolorize 

de-eol'or-ize 

daedal 

daedal 

daedal 

de'dal 

daedalian 

daedalian 

dsedalian 

de-da'li-an 

defence 

defence 

defence 

de-fense' 

demeanour 

demeanour 

demeanour 

de-mean'or 

demobilise 

demobilise 

demobilize 

de-mo'bil-ize 

demonetise 

demonetize 

demonetize 

de-mon'e-tize 

dernonise 

demonize 

demonize 

de'mon-ize 

demoralise 

demoralize 

demoralize 

de-mor'al-ize 

denationalise 

denationalize 

denationalize 

de-na'tion-al-ize 

denaturalise 

denaturalize 

denaturalize 

de-nat'u-ral-ize 

dentine 

dentine 

dentine 

den'tin 

dentise 

dentize 

dentize 

den'tize 

deodorise 

deodorize 

deodorize 

de-o'dor-ize 

deoxidise 

deoxidize 

deoxidize 

de-ox'i-dize 

deoxygenise 
depauperise 
depolarise 
depopularise 
deputise 
despatch 
desynonymise 
detonise 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
despatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

deoxygenize 
depauperize 
depolarize 
depopularize 
deputize 
dispatch 
desynonymize 
detonize 

de-ox'y-gen-ize 
de-pau'per-ize 
de-po'lar-ize 
de-pop'u-lar-ize 
dep'u-tize 
de-spatch' 
de-sy-non'y-mize 
det'o-nize 

devilise 

devilize 

devilize 

dev'il-ize 

diabolise 

diabohze 

diabohze 

di-ab'o-lize 

dialling 
dialogise 
diarise 

dialling 
dialogize 
diarize 

dialling 
dialogize 
diarize 

di'al-ing 
di-al'o-gize 
di'a-rize 

diarrhoea 

diarrhoea 

diarrhoea 

di-ar-rhe'a 

diarrhoetic 

diarrhoetic 

diarrhoetic 

di-ar-rhet'ic 

dicky 
24 

dickey 

dicky 

374     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
dieresis 

Standard 
dieresis 

Webster 
diaeresis 

Worcester 
diaeresis 

digitalin 
dinghy 
diphthongize 
diplomatize 
discolor,  v. 
disenamour 

digitalin 
dingey 
diphthongize 
diplomatize 
discolor 
disenamor 

digitalin 
dingey 
diphthongize 
diplomatize 
discolor 
disenamor 

digitaline 
dinghy 
diphthongize 
diplomatize 
discolor 
disenamour 

disenroll 

disenroh1 

disenroll 

disenroll 

disfavor 

disfavor 

disfavor 

disfavor 

disharmonize 

disharmonize 

disharmonize 

disharmonize 

disheveled 

disheveled 

disheveled 

dishevelled 

dishonor 

dishonor 

dishonor 

dishonor 

disillusionize 

disillusionize 

disillusionize 

disillusionize 

disinclose 

disenclose 

disinclose 

disenclose 

disindividualize 

disindividualize 

disindividualize 

disindividualize 

disk 

disk 

disk 

disk 

disluster 

disluster 

disluster 

dislustre 

disorganize 
distil 

disorganize 
distil 

disorganize 
distiU 

disorganize 
distil 

disutilize 

disutilize 

disutilize 

disutilize 

divinize 

divinize 

divinize 

divinize 

doggerelize 
dogmatize 
dolomize 

doggerelize 
dogmatize 
dolomize 

doggerelize 
dogmatize 
dolomize 

doggerelize 
dogmatize 
dolomize 

dolor 

dolor 

dolor 

dolor 

domesticize 

domesticize 

domesticize 

domesticize 

Doricize 

Doricize 

Doricize 

Doricize 

Dorize 

Dorize 

Dorize 

Dorize 

doxologize 
doxy 
dragonade 
droshky 

doxologize 
doxy 
dragonade 
droshky 

doxologize 
doxy 
dragonnade 
drosky 

doxologize 
doxy 
dragonnade 
drosky 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     375 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisiom 

dia-resis 

diaeresis 

diaeresis 

di-er'e-sis 

digitalin 

digitalin 

digitalin 

dig'i-ta-lin 

dingey 

dinghy 

dinghy 

din'ghy 

diphthongise 

diphthongize 

diphthongize 

diph'thong-ize 

diplomatise 

diplomatize 

diplomatize 

di-plo'ma-tize 

disc-olonr 

discolour 

discolour 

dis-col'or 

disenamour 

disenamour 

disenamour 

dis-en-am'our 

disenrol 

disenroll 

disenrol 

dis-en-roll' 

disfavour 

disfavour 

disfavour 

dis-fa'vor 

disharmonise 

disharmonize 

disharmonize 

dis-har'mo-nize 

dishevelled 

dishevelled 

dishevelled 

di-shev'el-ed 

dishonour 

dishonour 

dishonour 

dis-hon'or 

disillusionise 

disillusionize 

disillusionize 

dis-il-lu'sion-ize 

disenclose 

disinclose 

disenclose 

dis-in-close' 

disiudividuali.se 

disindividualize 

disindividualize 

dis-in-di-vid'u-al-ize 

disc 

disc 

disk 

dislustre 

dislustre 

dislustre 

dis-lus'ter 

disorganise 

disorganize 

disorganize 

dis-or'gan-ize 

distil 

distil 

distil 

dis-til' 

disutilise 

disutilize 

disutilize 

dis-u'til-ize 

divinise 

divinize 

divinize 

div'i-nize 

doggerelise 

doggerelize 

doggerelize 

dog'ger-el-ize 

dogmatise 

dogmatize 

dogmatize 

dog'ma-tize 

dolomise 

dolomize 

dolomize 

do'lo-mize 

dolor 

dolour 

dolour 

do'lor 

domesticise 

domesticize 

domesticize 

do-mes'ti-cize 

Doricise 

Doricize 

doricize 

Dor'i-cize 

Dorise 

Dorize 

dorize 

Do'rize 

doxologise 

doxologize 

doxologize 

dox-ol'o-gize 

doxie 

doxy 

doxy 

dragoonade 

dragonade 

dragonnade 

drag-o-nade' 

drosky 

drosky 

droshky 

drosh'ky 

376      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

dryly 

dryly 

dryly 

dryly 

dueling 

dueling 

dueling 

duelling 

duelist 

duelist 

duelist 

duellist 

dullness 

dulness 

dullness 

dulness 

dynamize 

dynamize 

dynamize 

dynamize 

economize 

economize 

economize 

economize 

edema 

edema 

oedema 

oedema 

edile 

edile 

aedile 

edile 

eery 

eery 

eerie 

eerie 

electrolyze 

electrolyze 

electrolyze 

electrolyze 

emboweled 

emboweled 

emboweled 

einbowelled 

emphasize 

emphasize 

emphasize 

emphasize 

employee 

employee 

employe' 

employe 

emu 

emu 

emu 

emeu 

enameled 

enameled 

enameled 

enamelled 

enameler 

enameler 

enameler 

enameller 

enameling 

enameling 

enameling 

enamelling 

enamour 

enamor 

enamor 

enamour 

encenia 

encenia 

encenia 

encenia 

encumbrance 

encumbrance 

incumbrance 

encumbrance 

endeavor 

endeavor 

endeavor 

endeavor 

energize 

energize 

energize 

energize 

engulf 

engulf 

ingulf 

engulf 

enroll 

enroll 

enroll 

enroll 

enrolment 

enrolment 

enrollment 

enrolment 

enthrall 

enthrall 

inthrall 

inthrall 

enthralment 

enthralment 

inthrallment 

inthralnient 

entwine 

entwine 

entwine 

intwine 

envelop,  v.  and  ». 

envelop,  v. 
envelope,  n. 

envelop,  v. 
envelope,  n. 

envelop,  v. 
envelope,  n. 

eon 

eon 

eon 

eon 

eonic 

eonic 

eonic 

eonic 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     377 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

drily 

dryly 

dryly 

dryly 

duelling 

duelling 

duelling 

du'el-ing 

duellist 

duellist 

duellist 

du'el-ist 

dulness 

dulness 

dullness 

dull'ness 

dynamise 

dynamize 

dynamize 

dy'na-mize 

economise 

economize 

economize 

e  con'o-mize 

oedema 

oedema 

e  de'ma 

aedile 

edile 

aedile 

eerie 

eerie 

eerie 

electrolyse 

electrolyse 

electrolyze 

e  lec'tro-lyze 

embowelled 

embowelled 

embowelled 

em-bow'el-ed 

emphasise 

emphasize 

emphasize 

em'pha-size 

employe 

employee 

employe 

em-ploy-ee' 

emu 

emu 

emeu 

enamelled 

enamelled 

enamelled 

en-am'el-ed 

enameller 

enameller 

enameller 

en-am'el-er 

enamelling 

enamelling 

enamelling 

en-am  'el-ing 

enamour 

enamour 

enamour 

en-am'our 

encaenia 

encenia 

encaenia 

en-ce'ni  a 

encumbrance 

encumbrance 

encumbrance 

en-cum'brance 

endeavour 

endeavour 

endeavour 

en-dea'vor 

energise 

energize 

energize 

en'er-gize 

engulf 

engulf 

engulf 

en-gulf' 

enrol 

enroll 

enrol 

en-roll' 

enrolment 

enrolment 

enrolment 

en-rol'ment 

inthral 

enthrall 

enthrall 

en-thrall' 

inthralment 

enthralment 

enthralment 

en-thral'ment 

entwine 

entwine 

entwine 

en-twine' 

envelop,  ». 

envelop,  v. 

envelop,  v. 

en-vel'op,  v. 

envelope,  n. 

envelope,  n. 

envelope,  n 

en'vel-ope,  n. 

aeon 

eon 

seon 

aeonic 

eonic 

aeonic 

e  on'ic 

378      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

epauleted 

epauleted 

epauleted 

epauletted 

epaulment 

epaulement 

epaulement 

epaulement 

epitomize 

epitomize 

epitomize 

epitomize 

equaled 

equaled 

equaled 

equalled 

equalize 

equalize 

equalize 

equalize 

equivoke 

equivoke 

equivoque 

equivoke 

escalloped 

escalloped 

escaloped 

escaloped 

esophageal 

esophageal 

esophageal 

oesophageal 

esophagus 

esophagus 

esophagus 

oesophagus 

estafet 

estafet 

estafet 

estafette 

esthetic 

esthetic 

aesthetic 

aesthetic 

eulogize 

eulogize 

eulogize 

eulogize 

evangelize 

evangelize 

evangelize 

evangelize 

extemporize 

extemporize 

extemporize 

extemporize 

fanaticize 

fanaticize 

fanaticize 

fanaticize 

favor 

favor 

favor 

favor 

favorite 

favorite 

favorite 

favorite 

fecal 

fecal 

fecal 

fecal 

feces 

feces 

faeces 

faeces 

federalize 

federalize 

federalize 

federalize 

fertilize 

fertilize 

fertilize 

fertilize 

fervor 

fervor 

fervor 

fervor 

feticide 

feticide 

feticide 

feticide 

fetish 

fetish 

fetich 

fetich 

fetus 

fetus 

fetus 

foetus 

feudalize 

feudalize 

feudalize 

feudalize 

fiber 

fiber 

fiber 

fibre 

flavor 

flavor 

flavor 

flavor 

fledgling 

fledgling 

fledgeling 

fledgling 

flunky 

flunky 

flunky 

flimky 

focalize 

focalize 

focalize 

focalize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     379 


Stor  month 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

epauletted 

epauletted 

epauletted 

ep'au-let-ed 

epaulement 

epaulement 

epaulement 

e  paul'ment 

epitomise 

epitomize 

epitomize 

e  pit'o-mize 

equalled 

equalled 

equalled 

e'qual-ed 

equalise 

equalize 

equalize 

e'qual-ize 

equivoque 

equivoque 

equivoque 

eq'ui-voke 

escalloped 

escaloped 

escalloped 

es-cal'lop-ed 

oesophageal 

oesophageal 

oesophageal 

e  so-phag'e-al 

oesophagus 

oesophagus 

oesophagus 

e  soph'a-gus 

estafette 

estafet 

estafette 

es-ta-fet' 

aesthetic 

aesthetic 

aesthetic 

es-thet'ic 

eulogise 

eulogize 

eulogize 

eu'lo-gize 

evangelise 

evangelize 

evangelize 

e  van'gel-ize 

extemporise 

extemporize 

extemporize 

ex-tem'po-rize 

fanaticise 

fanaticize 

fanaticize 

fa-nat'i-cize 

favour 

favour 

favour 

fa'vor 

favourite 

favourite 

favourite 

fa'vor-ite 

fecal 

faecal 

faecal 

fe'cal 

faeces 

faeces 

fasces 

fe'ces 

federalise 

federalize 

federalize 

fed'er-al-ize 

fertilise 

fertilize 

fertilize 

fer'til-ize 

fervour 

fervour 

fervour 

fer'vor 

foeticide 

feticide 

foeticide 

fe'ti-cide 

fetich 

fetich 

fetish 

fe'tish 

foetus 

fetus 

foetus 

fe'tus 

feudalise 

feudalize 

feudalize 

feu'dal-ize 

fibre 

fibre 

fibre 

fi'ber 

flavour 

flavour 

flavour 

fla'vor 

fledgeling 

fledgeling 

fledgeling 

fledgling 

flunkey 

flunkey 

flunkey 

flun'ky 

focalise 

focalize 

focalize 

fo'cal-ize 

380     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

focused 

focused 

focused 

focussed 

formalize 

formalize 

formalize 

formalize 

formulize 

formulize 

formulize 

formulize 

fossilize 

fossilize 

fossilize 

fossilize 

frankalmoin 

frankalmoigne 

frankalmoigne 

frankalmoign 

fraternize 

fraternize 

fraternize 

fraternize 

fricassee 

fricassee 

fricassee 

fricassee 

frizz 

frizz 

friz 

frizz 

frowzy 

frowzy 

frowzy 

frowzy 

fulfil 

fulfil 

fulfill 

fulfil 

fulfilment 

fulfilment 

fulfillment 

fulfilment 

fullness 

fulness 

fullness 

fulness 

gage  (a  measure) 

gage 

gauge 

gauge 

gager 

gager 

ganger 

gauger 

gaiety 

gaiety 

gayety 

gayety 

gaily 

gaily 

gayly 

gayly 

Gallicize 

Gallicize 

Gallicize 

Gallicize 

galvanize 

galvanize 

galvanize 

galvanize 

gargarize 

gargarize 

gargarize 

gargarize 

gazel 

gazel 

gazelle 

gazelle 

gelatin 

gelatin 

gelatin 

gelatine 

generalize 

generalize 

generalize 

generalize 

gentilize 

gentilize 

gentilize 

gentilize 

geologize 

geologize 

geologize 

geologize 

geometrize 

geometrize 

geometrize 

geometrize 

Germanize 

Germanize 

Germanize 

Germanize 

ghat 

ghat 

ghat 

ghaut 

gild 

gild 

guild 

guild 

gipsy 

gipsy 

gypsy 

gypsy 

glave 

glave 

glaive 

glave 

gluttonize 

gluttonize 

gluttonize 

gluttonize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     381 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

focussed 

focused 

focused 

fo'cus-ed 

formalise 

formalize 

formalize 

for'mal-ize 

formulise 

formulize 

formulize 

for'mu-lize 

fossilise 

fossilize 

fossilize 

fos'sil-ize 

frankalmoigne 

frankalmoigne 

frankalmoign 

frank'al-moin 

fraternise 

fraternize 

fraternize 

frat'er-nize 

fricassee 

fricassee 

fricassee 

fric-as-see' 

frizz 

frizz 

frizz 

frousy 

frouzy 

frowzy 

frow'zy 

fulfil 

fulfil 

fulfil 

ful-fil' 

fulfilment 

fulfilment 

fulfilment 

ful-fil'ment 

fulness 

fulness 

fullness 

full'ness 

gauge 

gauge 

gauge 

gauger 

gauger 

gauger 

ga'ger 

gaiety 

gaiety 

gaiety 

gai'e-ty 

gaily 

gaily 

gaily 

gai'ly 

Gallicise 

Gallicise 

Gallicize 

Gal'li-cize 

galvanise 

galvanize 

galvanize 

gal'va-nize 

gargarise 

gargarize 

gargarize 

gar'ga-rize 

gazelle 

gazelle 

gazelle 

ga-zel' 

gelatin 

gelatine 

gelatin 

gel'a-tin 

generalise 

generalize 

generalize 

gen'er-al-ize 

gentilise 

gentilize 

gentilize 

gen'til-ize 

geologise 

geologize 

geologize 

ge-ol'o-gize 

geometrise 

geometrize 

geometrize 

ge-om'e-trize 

Germanise 

Germanize 

Germanize 

Ger'man-ize 

ghaut 

ghat 

ghaut 

guild 

guild 

guild 

gipsy 

gypsy 

gipsy 

gip'sy 

glaive 

glaive 

glaive 

gluttonise 

gluttonize 

gluttonize 

glut'ton-ize 

382      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
glycerin 
gorgonize 
Gothicize 
gram 

grammaticize 
Grecize 
groveled 
groveler 
groveling 
gruesome 
guerrilla 


Standard  Webster 

glycerin  glycerin 

gorgonize  gorgonize 

Gothicize  Gothicize 


gram 

grammaticize 

Grecize 

groveled 

groveler 

groveling 

gruesome 

guerrilla 


gram 

grammaticize 

Grecize 

groveled 

groveler 

groveling 

grewsome 

guerrilla 


Worcester 
glycerine 
gorgonize 
Gothicize 
gramme 
grammaticize 
Grecize 
grovelled 
groveller 
grovelling 
grewsome 
guerilla 


halleluiah 
halyard 
harbor 

halleluiah 
halyard 
harbor 

halleluiah 
halyard 
harbor 

hallelujah 
halyard 
harbor 

harken 

harken 

hearken 

hearken 

harmonize 

harmonize 

harmonize 

harmonize 

heathenize 

heathenize 

heathenize 

heathenize 

Hebraicize 

Hebraicize 

Hebraicize 

Hebraicize 

Hebraize 

Hebraize 

Hebraize 

Hebraize 

Hellenize 

Hellenize 

Hellenize 

Hellenize 

hemal 

hemal 

hemal 

haemal 

hematin 

hematin 

hematin 

hematine 

hematite 

hematite 

hematite 

hematite 

hemoglobin 
hemoptysis 
hemorrhage 
hemorrhoid 

hemoglobin 
hemoptysis 
hemorrhage 
hemorrhoids 

hemoglobin 
hemoptysis 
hemorrhage 
hemorrhoid 

hemoglobin 
haemoptysis 
hemorrhage 
hemorrhoid 

herborize 

herborize 

herborize 

herborize 

Hibernicize 

Hibernicize 

Hibernicize 

Hibernicize 

hibernization 

hibernization 

hibernization 

hibernization 

hieroglyphize 

hieroglyphize 

hieroglyphize 

hieroglyphize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     383 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Oxford 

Divisions 

glycerin 

glycerine 

glycerine 

gly'cer-in 

gorgonise 

gorgonize 

gorgonize 

gor'gon-ize 

Gothicise 

Gothicize 

Gothicize 

Goth'i-cize 

gramme 

gramme 

gramme 

grammaticise 

grammaticize 

grammaticize 

gram-mat'i-cize 

Grecise 

Grecize 

Graecize 

Gre'cize 

grovelled 

grovelled 

grovelled 

grov'el-ed 

groveller 

groveller 

groveller 

grov'el-er 

grovelling 

grovelling 

grovelling 

grov'el-ing 

gruesome 

grewsome 

gruesome 

grue'some 

guerilla 

guerrilla 

guerrilla1 

guer-ril'la 

halleluiah 

hallelujah 

hal-le-lu'iah 

halliard 

halyard 

hal'yard 

harbour 

harbour 

har'bor 

hearken 

hearken 

hark'en 

harmonise 

harmonize 

har'mon-ize 

heathenise 

heathenize 

hea'then-ize 

Hebraicise 

Hebraicize 

He-bra'i-cize 

Hebraise 

Hebraize 

He'bra-ize 

Hellenise 

Hellenize 

Hel'len-ize 

haemal 

haemal 

he'mal 

haematin 

hematin 

hem'a-tin 

haematite 

hematite 

hem'a-tite 

haemoglobin 

haemoglobin 

hem-o-glo'bin 

haemoptysis 

haemoptysis 

he-mop'ty-sis 

haemorrhage 

hemorrhage 

hem'or-rhage 

haemorrhoid 

hemorrhoids 

hem'or-rhoid 

herborise 

herborize 

her'bo-rize 

Hibernicise 

Hibernicize 

Hi-ber'ni-cize 

hibernisation 

hibernization 

hi-ber-ni-za'tion 

hieroglyphise 

hieroglyphize 

hi-er-og'ly-phize 

1  As  far  as  published,  May,  1901. 

384      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

hindrance 

hindrance 

hindrance 

hinderance 

Hindu 

Hindu 

Hindoo 

Hindoo 

Hindustani 

Hindustani 

Hindoostanee 

Hindostanee 

Hispanicize 

Hispanicize 

Hispanicize 

Hispanicize 

hoarhound 

hoarhound 

horehound 

horehound 

homeopathic 

homeopathic 

homeopathic 

homoeopathic 

homeopathist 

homeopathist 

homeopathist 

homceopathist 

homeopathy 

homeopathy 

homeopathy 

homoeopathy 

homogenize 

homogenize 

homogenize 

homogenize 

homologize 

homologize 

homologize 

homologize 

honor 

honor 

honor 

honor 

hospitaler 

hospitaler 

hospitaler 

hospitaller 

hostilize 

hostilize 

hostilize 

hostilize 

hostler 

hostler 

hostler 

hostler 

hoveling 

hoveling 

hoveling 

hovelling 

humanize 

humanize 

humanize 

humanize 

humor 

humor 

humor 

humor 

humorist 

humorist 

humorist 

humorist 

hybridize 

hybridize 

hybridize 

hybridize 

hydrogenize 

hydrogenize 

hydrogenize 

hydrogenize 

hyperbolize 

hyperbolize 

hyperbolize 

hyperbolize 

hypercriticize 

hypercriticize 

hypercriticise 

hypercriticise 

hyperemia 

hyperemia 

hypersemia 

hyperaemia 

hyphenize 

hyphenize 

hyphenize 

hyphenize 

hypnotize 

hypnotize 

hypnotize 

hypnotize 

hypostatize 

hypostatize 

hypostatize 

hypostatize 

hypothesize 

hypothesize 

hypothesize 

hypothesize 

iambize 

iambize 

iambize 

iambize 

iconize 

iconize 

iconize 

iconize 

idealize 

idealize 

idealize 

idealize 

idiotize 

idiotize 

idiotize 

idiotize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     385 


Stormonth 

Imperial             Oxford 

Divisions 

hinderance 

hinderance 

hin'drance 

Hindoo 

Hindu 

Hin'du 

Hindoostanee 

Hindustani 

Hin-du-stan'i 

Hispanicise 

Hispanieize 

His-pan'i-cize 

horehound 

horehound 

hoar'hound 

homoeopathic 

homoaopathic 

ho-me-o-path'ic 

homoeopathist 

homoeopathist 

ho-me-op'a-thist 

homo30pathy 

homoeopathy 

ho-me-op'a-thy 

homogenise 

homogenize 

ho-mog'e-nize 

homologise 

homologize 

ho-mol'o-gize 

honour 

honour 

hon'or 

hospitaller 

hospitaller 

hos'pi-tal-er 

hostilise 

hostilize 

hos'til-ize 

ostler 

hostler 

hos'tler 

hovelling 

hovelling 

hov'el-ing 

humanise 

humanize 

hu'man-ize 

humour 

humour 

hu'mor 

humourist 

humorist 

hu'mor-ist 

hybridise 

•hybridize 

hy'brid-ize 

hydrogenise 

hydrogenize 

hy'dro-gen-ize 

hyperbolise 

hyperbolize 

hy-per'bo-lize 

hypercriticise 

hypercriticise 

hy-per-crit'i-cize 

hyperaeniia 

hyperaeniia 

hy-per-e'mi  a 

hyphenise 

hyphenize 

hy'phen-ize 

hypnotise 

hypnotize 

hyp'no-tize 

hypostatise 

hypostatize 

hy-pos'ta-tize 

hypothesise 

hypothesize 

hy-poth'e-size 

iambise 

iambize 

i  am'bize 

iconise 

iconize 

i'con-ize 

idealise 

idealize 

i  de'al-ize 

idiotise 

idiotize 

id'i-ot-ize 

386      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century              Standard 
idolatrize           idolatrize 
idolize                idolize 
iliadize               iliadize 
illegalize            illegalize 

Webster              Worcester 
idolatrize           idolatrize 
idolize                idolize 
iliadize               iliadize 
illegalize            illegalize 

illegitimatize     illegitimatize 

illegitimatize     illegitimatize 

illiberalize         illiberalize 

illiberalize          illiberalize 

immaterialize    immaterialize 

immaterialize    immaterialize 

immortalize       immortalize 

immortalize       immortalize 

impale               empale 

impale                empale 

impanel              impanel 

impanel              impanel 

impaneled          impaneled 

impaneled          impanelled 

impaneling        impaneling 

impaneling        impanelling 

imperialize        imperialize 

imperialize        imperialize 

imperiled           imperiled 

imperiled           imperilled 

incase                 incase 

incase                encase 

inclose               enclose 

inclose               enclose 

inclosure            enclosure 

inclosure            enclosure 

incognizable     incognizable 

incognizable      incognizable 

incognizant       incognizant 

incognizant       incognizant 

individualize     individualize 

individualize     individualize 

inorganizable    inorganizable 

inorganizable    inorganizable 

inorganization  inorganization 

inorganization  inorganization 

inorganized       inorganized 

inorganized       inorganized 

inoxidizable      inoxidizable 

inoxidizable       inoxidizable 

inoxidize            inoxidize 

inoxidize            inoxidize 

instalment         instalment 

installment        instalment 

instil                   instil 

instill                  instil 

intellectualize   intellectualize 

intellectualize    intellectualize 

internationalize    internationalize 

internationalize    internationalize 

Tonicize              Tonicize 

lonicize              lonicize 

Ionize                Ionize 

Ionize                 Ionize 

Italianize           Italianize 

Italianize           Italianize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     387 


Stormonth 
idolatrise 

Imperial             Oxford 
idolatrize 

Divisions 
i  dol'a-trize 

idolise 

idolize 

i'dol-ize 

iliadise 

iliadize 

il'i-ad-ize 

illegalise 

illegalize 

il-le'gal-ize 

illegitimatise 
illiberalise 

illegitimatize 
illiberalize 

il-le-git'i-ma-tize 
il-lib'er-al-ize 

immaterialise 

immaterialize 

im-ma-te'ri-al-ize 

immortalise 

immortalize 

im-mor'tal-ize 

empale 
impannel 
impannelled 
impannelling 
iinperialise 
imperilled 

impale 
impannel 
impannelled 
impannelling 
imperialize 
imperilled 

im-pale' 
im-pan'el 
im-pan'el-ed 
im-pan'el-ing 
im-pe'ri-al-ize 
im-per'il-ed 

encase 

incase                encase 

in-case' 

enclose 

inclose 

in-close' 

enclosure 

inclosure 

in-clo'sure 

incognisable 
incognisant 
individualise 

incognizable 
incognizant 
individualize 

in-cog'ni-za-ble 
in-cog'ni-zant 
in-di-vid'u-al-ize 

inorganisable 
inorganisation 
inorganised 
inoxidisable 

inorganizable 
inorganization 
inorganized 
inoxidizable 

in-or'gan-i-za-ble 
in-or-gan-i-za'tion 
in-or'gan-ized 
in-ox'i-diz-a-ble 

inoxidise 

inoxidize 

in-ox'i-dize 

instalment 

instalment 

in-stal'ment 

instil 

instil 

in-stil' 

intellectualise 

intellectualize 

in-tel-lec'tu-al-ize 

internationalise 

internationalize 

in-ter-na'  tion-al-ize 

lonicise 

lonicize 

I  on'i-cize 

Ionise 

Ionize 

I'o-nize 

Italianise 

Italianize 

I  tal'ian-ize 

388       Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

italicize 

italicize 

italicize 

italicize 

itemize 

itemize 

itemize 

itemize 

Jacobinize 

Jacobinize 

Jacobinize 

Jacobinize 

Japanization 

Japanization 

Japanization 

Japanization 

jasperize 

jasperize 

jasperize 

jasperize 

jeremiad 

jeremiad 

jeremiad 

jeremiade 

jeweled 

jeweled 

jeweled 

jewelled 

jeweler 

jeweler 

jeweler 

jeweller 

jeweling 

jeweling 

jeweling 

jewelling 

jewelry 

jewelry 

jewelry 

jewellery 

judgment  l 

judgment 

judgment 

judgment 

kidnapped 

kidnaped 

kidnaped 

kidnapped 

kidnapper 

kidnaper 

kidnaper 

kidnapper 

kidnapping 

kidnaping 

kidnaping 

kidnapping 

kilogram 

kilogram 

kilogram 

kilogram 

kotow 

kotow 

kotow 

kowtow 

kumiss 

kumiss 

koumiss 

koumiss 

labeling 

labeling 

labeling 

labelling 

labor 

labor 

labor 

labor 

labored 

labored 

labored 

labored 

laborer 

laborer 

laborer 

laborer 

laborsome 

laborsome 

laborsome- 

laborsome 

lacrymal 

lacrimal 

lachrymal 

lachrymal 

lacrymose 

lacrimose 

lachrymose 

lachrymose 

lammergeier 

lammergeier 

lammergeir 

lammergeyer 

lampas 

lampas 

lampas 

lampass 

lanthanum 

lanthanum 

lantha'num 

lanthanum 

lanyard 

lanyard 

lanyard 

lanyard 

Latinize 

Latinize 

Latinize 

Latinize 

1  In  the  revised  version  of  the  Bible,  judgement  is  spelled 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     389 

Oxford  Divisions 

i  tal'i-eize 
i'tem-ize 

Jac'o-bin-ize 

Jap-a-ni-za'tion 

jas'per-ize 

jer-e-mi'ad 

jew'el-ed 

jew'el-er 

jew'el-ing 

jew'el-ry 

judg'ment 

kid'nap-ped 

kid'nap-per 

kid'nap-ping 

kil'o-gram 

ko-tow' 

ku'miss 

la'bel-ing 

la'bor 

la'bor-ed 

la'bor-er 

la'bor-some 

lac'ry-mal 

lac'ry-mose 

lam'mer-gei-er 

lam'pas 

lan'tha-num 

lan'yard 

Lat'in-ize 

with  the  e,  and  this  spelling  is  approved  by  Dr.  J.  A.  H.  Murray. 

?5 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

italicise 

italicize 

itemise 

itemize 

Jacobinise 

Jacobinize 

Japanisation 

Japanization 

jasperise 

jasperize 

jeremiad 

jeremiad 

jewelled 

jewelled 

jeweller 

jeweller 

jewelling 

jewelling 

jewellery 

jewelry 

judgment 

judgment 

kidnapped 

kidnapped 

kidnapper 

kidnapper 

kidnapping 

kidnapping 

kilogramme 

kilogram 

kow-tow 

koumiss 

kumiss 

labelling 

labelling 

labour 

labour 

laboured 

laboured 

labourer 

labourer 

laboursome 

laboursome 

lachrymal 

lachrymal 

lachrymose 

lachrymose 

lammergeir 

lammergeier 

lampass 

lampas 

lanthanium 

lanthanium 

laniard 

lanyard 

Latinise 

Latinize 

390      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
laureled 

Standard 
laureled 

Webster 
laureled 

Worcester 
laurelled 

legalization 
legalize 
legitimize 
lethargize 
leucorrhea 

legalization 
legalize 
legitimize 
lethargize 
leucorrhea 

legalization 
legalize 
legitimize 
lethargize 
leucorrhoea 

legalization 
legalize 
legitimize 
lethargize 
leucorrhoea 

leveled 

leveled 

leveled 

levelled 

leveler 

leveler 

leveler 

leveller 

leveling 
libeled 

leveling 
libeled 

leveling 
libeled 

levelling 
libelled 

libeler 

libeler 

libeler 

libeller 

libeling 
libelous 

libeling 
libelous 

libeling 
libelous 

libelling 
libellous 

liberalize 

liberalize 

liberalize 

liberalize 

licorice 

licorice 

licorice 

licorice 

lin  (pool  or  pond) 

lionize 

lin 
lionize 

lin 
lionize 

lin 
lionize 

liter 

liter 

liter 

litre 

literalize 

literalize 

literalize 

literalize 

localize 

localize 

localize 

localize 

lodestone 

lodestone 

loadstone 

loadstone 

lodgment 
luster 

lodgment 
luster 

lodgment 
luster  - 

lodgement 
lustre 

macadamize 

macadamize 

macadamize 

macadamize 

machinize 

machinize 

machinize 

machinize 

magnetize 

magnetize 

magnetize 

magnetize 

mama 

mama 

mamma 

mamma 

mammonize 

mammonize 

mammonize 

mammonize 

manoeuver 

maneuver 

maneuver 

manoeuvre 

manoauverer 

maneuverer 

maneuverer 

manoeuvrer 

marbleize 

marbleize 

marbleize 

marbleize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     391 


Stormonth 
laurelled 

Imperial 
laurelled 

legalisation 
legalise 
legitimise 
lethargise 
leucorrhea 

legalization 
legalize 
legitimize 
lethargize 
leucorrhcea 

levelled 

levelled 

leveller 

leveller 

levelling 
libelled 

levelling 
libelled 

libeller 

libeller 

libelling 
libellous 

libelling 
libellous 

liberalise 

liberalize 

liquorice 
linn 

liquorice 
lin 

lionise 

lionize 

litre 

litre 

literalise 

literalize 

localise 

localize 

lodestone 

loadstone 

lodgment 
lustre 

lodgment 
lustre 

macadamise 

macadamize 

machinise 

machinize 

magnetise 

magnetize 

mamma 

mama 

mammonise 

mammonize 

manoeuvre 

manoeuvre 

manoeuvrer 

manoeuvrer 

marbleise 

marbleize 

Oxford 


Divisions 
lau'rel-ed 
le-gal-i-za'tion 
le'gal-ize 
le-git'i-mize 
leth'ar-gize 
leu-cor-rhe'a 
lev'el-ed 
lev'el-er 
lev'el-ing 
li'bel-ed 
li'bel-er 
li'bel-ing 
li'bel-ous 
lib'er-al-ize 
lic'o-rice 

li'on-ize 

li'ter 

lit'er-al-ize 

lo'cal-ize 

lode'stone 

lodg'ment 

lus'ter 

mac-ad'am-ize 
ma-chin 'ize 
mag'net-ize 

matn'mon-ize 
ma-nceu'ver 
ma-noeu'ver-er 
mar'ble-ize 


392      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
martyrize 
marvelous 

Standard 
martyrize 
marvelous 

Webster 
martyrize 
marvelous 

Worcester 
martyrize 
marvellous 

materialize 

materialize 

materialize 

materialize 

maugre 

maugre 

mauger 

maugre 

meager 
medalist 

meager 
medalist 

meager 
medalist 

meagre 
medallist 

mediatize 

mediatize 

mediatize 

mediatize 

medieval 

medieval 

mediaeval 

mediaeval 

medievalize 

medievalize 

mediaevalize 

mediae  valize 

memorize 

memorize 

memorize 

memorize 

mercurialize 

mercurialize 

mercurialise 

mercurialize 

metaled 

metaled 

metaled 

metalled 

metaling 
metallize 

metaling 
metalize 

metaling 
metallize 

metalling 
metallize 

meter 

meter 

meter 

metre 

methodize 

methodize 

methodize 

methodize 

millionaire 

millionaire 

millionaire 

millionnaire 

millionize 

millionize 

millionize 

millionize 

mineralize 

mineralize 

mineralize 

mineralize 

minimize 

minimize 

minimize 

minimize 

miter 

miter 

miter 

mitre 

mobilize 

mobilize 

mobilize 

mobilize 

modeled 

modeled 

modeled 

modelled 

modeler 

modeler 

modeler 

modeller 

modeling 
mold 

modeling 
mold 

modeling 
mold 

modelling 
mould 

molt 

molt 

molt 

moult 

monetize 

monetize 

monetize 

monetize 

monopolize 
moralize 

monopolize 
moralize 

monopolize 
moralize 

monopolize 
moralize 

mortalize 

mortalize 

mortalize 

mortalize 

mustache 

mustache 

mustache 

mustache 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     393 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

martyrise 
marvellous 

martyrize 
marvellous 

materialise 

materialize 

maugre 

maugre 

meagre 
medallist 

meagre 
medallist 

mediatise 

mediatize 

mediaeval 

mediaeval 

medisevalise 

medisevalize 

memorise 

memorize 

mercurialise 

mercurialize 

metalled 

metalled 

metalling 
metallise 

metalling 
metallize 

metre 

metre 

methodise 

methodize 

millionaire 

millionaire 

millionise 

millioiiize 

mineralise 

mineralize 

minimise 

minimize 

mitre 

mitre 

mobilise 

mobilise 

modelled 

modelled 

modeller 

modeller 

modelling 
mould 

modelling 
mould 

moult 

moult 

monetise 

monetize 

monopolise 
moralise 

monopolize 
moralize 

mortalise 

mortalize 

moustache 

moustache 

Oxford 


Divisions 
mar'tyr-ize 
mar'vel-ous 
ma-te'ri-al-ize 
mau'gre 
mea'ger 
med'al-ist 
me'di-a-tize 
me-di-e'val 
me-di-e'val-ize 
mem'o-rize 
mer-cu'ri-al-ize 
met'al-ed 
met'al-ing 
met'al-lize 
me'ter 
meth'od-ize 
mil-lion-aire' 
mil'lion-ize 
min'er-al-ize 
min'i-mize 
mi'ter 
mo'bil-ize 
mod'el-ed 
mod'el-er 
mod'el-ing 


mon'e-tize 

mo-nop'o-lize 

mor'al-ize 

mor'tal-ize 

mus-tache' 


394     Comparative  list  of  variable. spellings 

Century  Standard  Webster  Worcester 

mythologize      mythologize      mythologize      mythologize 
mythopeic         mythopeic         mythopoeic        mythopoeio 


naphthalene 

naphthalene 

naphthalene 

naphthaline 

naphthalize 

naphthalize 

naphthalize 

naphthalize 

narcotize 

narcotize 

narcotize 

narcotize 

narghile 

narghile 

nargile 

nargile 

nasalize 

nasalize 

nasalize 

nasalize 

natheless 

nathless 

nathless 

nathless 

nathemore 

nathmore 

nathmore 

nathmore 

nationalize 

nationalize 

nationalize 

nationalize 

naturalize 

naturalize 

naturalize 

naturalize 

nebulize 

nebulize 

nebulize 

nebulize 

nectarize 

nectarize 

nectarize 

nectarize 

neighbor 

neighbor 

neighbor 

neighbor 

Nemean 

Nemean 

Nemean 

Nemean 

neologize 

neologize 

neologize 

neologize 

nephelin 

nepheline 

nepheline 

nepheline 

neutralize 

neutralize 

neutralize 

neutralize 

nilgau 

nilgau 

nylghau 

nylghau 

niter 

niter 

niter 

nitre 

nitery 

nitery 

nitry 

nitry 

nitrogenize 

nitrogenize 

nitrogenize 

nitrogenize 

nitroglycerin 

nitroglycerin 

nitroglycerin 

nitroglycerine 

nomadize 

nomadize 

nomadize 

nomadize 

nominalize 

nominalize 

nominalize 

nominalize 

normalize 

normalize 

normalize 

normalize 

noveh'ze 

novelize 

novelize 

novelize 

nozle 

nozle 

nozzle 

nozle 

nuneheon 

nuneheon 

nunchion 

nunchion 

obbligato  obbligato  obbligato  obbligato 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 
Oxfwd 


395 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

mythologise 

mythologize 

mythopoeic 

mythopoeic 

naphthaline 

naphthalene 

naphthalise 

naphtha]  ize 

narcotise 

narcotize 

nargile 

narghile 

nasalise 

nasalize 

nathless 

nathless 

nathemore 

nathmore 

nationalise 

nationalize 

naturalise 

naturalize 

nebulise 

nebulize 

nectarise 

nectarize 

neighbour 

neighbour 

Nemaean 

Nemean 

neologise 

neologize 

nepheline 

nephelin 

neutralise 

neutralize 

nylgau 

nylghau 

nitre 

nitre 

nitry 

nitry 

nitrogenise 

nitrogenize 

nitro-glycerin 

nitro-glycerine 

nomadise 

nomadize 

nominalise 

nominalize 

normalise 

normalize 

novelise 

novelize 

nozzle 

nozzle 

nuneheon 

nuneheon 

Divisions 
my-thol'o-gize 
myth-o-pe'ic 

naph'tha-lene 

naph'tha-lize 

nar'co-tize 

nar'ghi-le 

na'sal-ize 

na'the-less' 

na'the-more' 

na'tion-al-ize 

nat'u-ral-ize 

neb'u-lize 

nec'tar-ize 

neigh'bor 

Ne-me'an 

ne-ol'o-gize 

neph'e-lin 

neu'tral-ize 

nil'gau 

ni'ter 

ni'ter  y 

ni'tro-gen-ize 

ni-tro-gly'cer-in 

nom'ad-ize 

nom'i-nal-ize 

nor'mal-ize 

nov'el-ize 

noz'le 

nun'cheon 


obligate 


obbligato 


ob-bli-ga'to 


396     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

obelize 

obelize 

obelize 

obelize 

obi 

obi 

obi 

obeah 

ocher 

ocher 

ocher 

ochre 

ochery 

ochery 

ochery 

ochrey 

octastyle 

octastyle 

octostyle 

octostyle 

odalisk 

odalisk 

odalisque 

odalisk 

odeum 

odeon 

odeon 

odeon 

odize 

odize 

odize 

odize 

odor 

odor 

odor 

odor 

offense 

offense 

offense 

offence 

olivil 

olivil 

olivil 

olivile 

olivin 

olivin 

olivin 

olivine 

ombre 

•  omber 

omber 

ombre 

omelet 

omelet 

omelet 

omelet 

opalize 

opalize 

opalize 

opalize 

orang-utan 

orang-utan 

orang-outang 

orang-outang 

oratorize 

oratorize 

oratorize 

oratorize 

orcin 

orcin 

orcin 

orcine 

organize 

organize 

organize 

organize 

orientalize 

Orientalize 

orientalize 

orientalize 

oriflamme 

oriflamme 

oriflamb 

oriflamb 

orillion 

orillon 

orillon 

orillon 

orpharion 

orpharion 

orpharion 

orpharion 

orpine 

orpin 

orpin 

orpine 

orthographize 

orthographize 

orthographize 

orthographize 

orthopaedic 

orthopedic 

orthopedic 

orthopedic 

ostracean 

ostracean 

ostracean 

ostracean 

ostracize 

ostracize 

ostracize 

ostracize 

ouzel 

ouzel 

ousel 

ouzel 

overpassed 

overpassed 

overpassed 

overpast 

oxid 

oxid 

oxide 

oxide 

oxidize 

oxidize 

oxidize 

oxidize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     397 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

obelise 

obelize 

obeah 

obeah 

ochre 

ochre 

ochrey 

ochrey 

octastyle 

octastyle 

odalisque 

odalisk 

odeon 

odeon 

odise 

odize 

odour 

odour 

offence 

offence 

olivile 

olivil 

olivine 

olivin 

ombre 

ombre 

omelette 

omelet 

opalise 

opalize 

orang-outang 

orang-outang 

oratorise 

oratorize 

orcin 

orcine 

organise 

organize 

orientalise 

orientalize 

oriflamme 

oriflamme 

orillon  • 

orillon 

orpharion 

orpin 

orpin 

orthographise 

orthographize 

orthopaedic 

ostraceous 

ostracean 

ostracise 

ostracize 

ouzel 

ousel 

overpassed 

oxide 

oxide 

oxidise 

oxidize 

Oxford 


Divisions 
ob'e-lize 


oc'ta-style 
o'da-lisk 
o  de'um 


of-fense' 

ol'i-vil 

ol'i-vin 

om'bre 

om'e-let 

o'pal-ize 

o  rang'u-tan 

or'a-tor-ize 

or'cin 

or'gan-ize 

o  ri-en'tal-ize 

or'i-flamme 

o  ril'lion 

or-pha'ri-on 

or'pine 

or-thog'ra-phize 

or-tho-pae'dic 

os-tra'ce-an 

os'tra-eize 

ou'zel 

o  ver-pass'ed 

ox'id 

ox'i-dize 


398     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

oxygenize 

oxygenize 

oxygenize 

oxygenize 

ozocerite 

ozocerite 

ozocerite 

ozocerite 

ozonize 

ozonize 

ozonize 

ozonize 

paganize 

paganize 

paganize 

paganize 

paleography 

paleography 

paleography 

paleography 

paleontology 

paleontology 

paleontology 

paleontology 

Paleozoic 

Paleozoic 

Paleozoic 

Palaeozoic 

palestra 

palestra 

palestra 

palaestra 

panaperize 

pamperize 

pamperize 

pamperize 

panada 

panada 

panada 

panado 

pandoor 

pandour 

pandour 

pandoor 

panegyrize 

panegyrize 

panegyrize 

panegyrize 

paneled 

paneled 

paneled 

panelled 

paneling 

paneling 

paneling 

panelling 

papalize 

papalize 

papalize 

papalize 

papier-mache 

papier-m&che 

papier-mache 

papier-mache 

papoose 

papoose 

papoose 

pappoose 

paradigmatize 

paradigmatize 

paradigmatize 

paradigmatize 

paraffin 

paraffin 

paraffin 

paraffine 

paralipsis 

paraleipsis 

paraleipsis 

paraleipsis 

paralogize 

paralogize 

paralogize 

paralogize 

paralyze 

paralyze 

paralyze 

paralyze 

paravant 

paravant 

paravant 

para  vaunt 

parceled 

parceled 

parceled 

parcelled 

parceling 

parceling 

parceling 

parcelling 

parlor 

parlor 

parlor 

parlor 

parochialize 

parochialize 

parochialize 

parochialize 

parrakeet 

parrakeet 

parrakeet 

paroquet 

partialize 

partialize 

partialize 

partialize 

participialize 

participialize 

participialize 

participialize 

particularize 

particularize 

particularize 

particularize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     399 

Star-month  Imperial  Oxford  Divisions 


oxygemse 
ozokerite 


Imperial 
oxygenize 
ozocerite 
ozonize 


paganise  paganize 

palaeography  palaeography 

palaeontology  palaeontology 

Palaeozoic  Palaeozoic 

palasstra  palestra 


panegyrise 

panegynze 

panelled 

panelled 

panelling 

panelling 

papalise 

papalize 

papier-mache 

papier  mache 

papoose 

papoose 

paradigmatise 

paradigmatize 

paraffin 

paraffin 

paraleipsis 

paralepsis 

paralogise 

paralogize 

paralyse 

paralyse 

paravaunt 

paravant 

parcelled 

parcelled 

parcelling 

parcelling 

parlour 

parlour 

parochialise 

parochiahze 

paroquet 

parrakeet 

partialise 

partialize 

participialise 

participialize 

particularise 

particularize 

ox  y-gen-ize 
o  zo-ce'rite 
o'zo-nize 


pa'gan-ize 

pa-le-og'ra-phy 

pa-le-on-tol'o-gy 

Pa-le-o-zo'ic 

pa-les'tra 

pam'per-ize 

pa-na'da 

pan' door 

pan'e-gy-rize 

pan'el-ed 

pan'el-ing 

pa'pal-ize 

pa-pier'ma-che 

pa-poose' 

par-a-dig'ma-tize 

par'af-fin 

par-a-lip'sis 

pa-ral'o-gize 

par'a-lyze 

par'a-vant 

par'cel-ed 

par'cel-ing 

parlor 

pa-ro'chi-al-ize 

par'ra-keet 

par'tial-ize 

par-ti-cip'i-al-ize 

par-tic'u-lar-ize 


400     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

partizan 

partizan 

partisan 

partisan 

party-colored 

party-colored 

party-colored 

party-colored 

pasha 

pasha 

pasha 

pacha 

patchouli 

patchouli 

patchouli 

patchouly 

patronize 

patronize 

patronize 

patronize 

pauperize 

pauperize 

pauperize 

pauperize 

paynim 

paynim 

painim 

painim 

peccary 

peccary 

peccary 

peccary 

pectin 

pectin 

pectin 

pectine 

peculiarize 

peculiarize 

peculiarize 

peculiarize 

pedantize 

pedantize 

pedantize 

pedantize 

peddler 

pedler 

peddler 

pedler 

pedestrianize 

pedestrianize 

pedestrianize 

pedestrianize 

pemmican 

pemmican 

pemmican 

pernican 

penciled 

penciled 

penciled 

pencilled 

percarbureted 

percarbureted 

percarbureted 

percarburetted 

perdue 

perdue 

perdu 

perdu 

perineum 

perineum 

perineum 

perina?um 

peritoneum 

peritoneum 

peritoneum 

peritonaeum 

peroxid 

peroxid 

peroxide 

peroxide 

peroxidize 

peroxidize 

peroxidize 

peroxidize 

personalize 

personalize 

personalize 

personalize 

petaled 

petaled 

petaled 

petaled 

petardeer 

petardeer 

petardeer 

petardeer 

petrohn 

petrolin 

petroline 

petroline 

pewit 

pewit 

pewit 

pewit 

phaeton 

phaeton 

phaeton 

phaeton 

phagedena 

phagedaena 

phagedena 

phagedena 

Phenician 

Phenician 

Phoenician 

Phoenician 

phenicin 

phenicin 

phenicine 

phenicine 

phenix 

phenix 

phenix 

phoenix 

phenyl 

phenyl 

phenyl 

phenyle 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     401 


Stormonth  Imperial 

partisan  partisan 

party-coloured  party-coloured 


pacha 

pasha 

patchouly 

patchouli 

patronise 

patronize 

pauperise 

pauperize 

paynim 

painim 

peccari 

peccary 

pectin 

pectin 

peculiarise 

peculiarize 

pedantise 

pedantize 

pedlar 

pedlar 

pedestrianise     pedestrianize 
penimican          pemmican 
pencilled  pencilled 

percarburetted  per-carburetted 
perdu  perdu 


permaeum 

permseum 

peritonaeum 

peritoneum 

peroxide 

peroxide 

peroxidise 

peroxidize 

personalise 

personalize 

petalled 

petaled 

petardier 

petardeer 

petroline 

petroline 

peewit 

pewit 

phaeton 

phaeton 

phageda?na 

phagedena 

Phoenician 

Phoenician 

phenicine 

phenicin 

phenix 

phoenix 

phenyl 

phenyl 

Oxfwd  Dictions 

par'ti-zan 
par'ty-col-or-ed 

pa-tchou'li 

pa'tron-ize 

pau'per-ize 

pay'nim 

pec'ca-ry 

pec'tin 

pe-cu'liar-ize 

ped'an-tize 

ped'dler 

pe-des'tri-an-ize 

pem'mi-can 

pen'cil-ed 

per-car'bu-ret-ed 

per-due' 

per-i-ne'um 

per-i-to-ne'um 

per-ox'id 

per-ox'i-dize 

per'son-al-ize 

pet'al-ed 

pet-ar-deer' 

pet'ro-lin 

pe'wit 

pha'e-ton 

phag-e-de'na 

Phe-ni'cian 

phen'i-cin 

phe'nix 

phe'nyl 


402      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

philosophize 

philosophize 

philosophize 

philosophize 

phlebotomize 

phlebotomize 

phlebotomize 

phlebotomize 

phosgen 

phosgen 

phosgene 

phosgene 

phosphureted 

phosphureted 

phosphureted 

phosphuretted 

piassava 

piassava 

piassava 

piassava 

piaster 

piaster 

piaster 

piaster 

piccadill 

piccadilly 

piccadil 

piccadilly 

piccaninny 

piccaninny 

pickaninny 

pickaninny 

pickaback 

pickaback 

pickaback 

pickback 

pickax 

pickax 

pickax 

pickaxe 

picrotoxin 

picrotoxin 

picrotoxin 

picrotoxine 

picul 

picul 

picul 

pecul 

pilau 

pilau 

pillau 

pillau 

pilgarlick 

pilgarlick 

pilgarlic 

pilgarlic 

pilgrimize 

pilgrimize 

pilgi'imize 

pilgrimize 

pimento 

pimento 

pimento 

pimenta 

plagiarize 

plagiarize 

plagiarize 

plagiarize 

platinize 

platinize 

platinize 

platinize 

Platonize 

Platonize 

Platonize 

Platonize 

platyrrhine 

platyrhine 

platyrhine 

platyrhine 

plebeianize 

plebeianize 

plebeianize 

plebeianize 

Pleiads 

Pleiades 

Pleiades 

Pleiades 

plow 

plow 

plow 

plough 

pluralize 

pluralize 

pluralize 

pluralize 

poetize 

poetize 

poetize 

poetize 

polarize 

polarize 

polarize 

polarize 

poleax 

poleax 

poleax 

pole-axe 

politicize 

politicize 

politicize 

politicize 

pollack 

pollack 

pollock 

pollack 

polverin 

polverine 

polverine 

polverine 

polyp 

polyp 

polyp 

polype 

polytheize 

polytheize 

polytheize 

polytheize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     403 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

philosophise 

philosophize 

phlebotomise 

phlebotomize 

phosgene 

phosgen 

phosphuretted 

phosphuretted 

piassaba 

piassava 

piastre 

piaster 

piccadill 

piccadil 

piccaninny 

pickaninny 

pick-a-pack 

pickaback 

pickaxe 

pickaxe 

picrotoxin 

picrotoxin 

picul 

picul 

pillaw 

pillau 

pilgarlic 

pilgarlick 

pilgrimise 

pilgrim  ize 

pimento 

pimento 

plagiarise 

plagiarize 

platinise 

platinize 

Platonise 

Platonize 

platyrhine 

platyrhine 

plebeianise 

plebeianize 

Pleiads 

Pleiads 

plough 

plough 

pluralise 

pluralize 

poetise 

poetize 

polarise 

polarize 

pole-axe 

pole-axe 

politicise 

politicize 

pollock 

pollack 

polverine 

polverin 

polype 

polyp 

polytheise 

polytheize 

Oxford 


Divisions 
phi-los'o-phize 
phle-bot'o-mize 
phos'gen 
phos'phu-ret-ed 
pi-as'sa-va 
pi-as'ter 
pic'ca-dill 
pic'ca-nin-ny 
pick'a-back 
pick'ax 
pic-ro-tox'in 
pic'ul 
pi-lau' 
pil-gar'lick 
pirgrim-ize 
pi-men 'to 
pla'gi-a-rize 
plat'i-nize 
Pla'to-nize 
plat'yr-rhine 
pie-be  ian-ize 
Plei'ads 

plu'ral-ize 

po'et-ize 

po'lar-ize 

pole 'ax 

po-lit'i-cize 

pollack 

pol'ver-in 

pol'y-the-ize 


404      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

pommeled 

pommeled 

pommeled 

pommelled 

popularize 

popularize 

popularize 

popularize 

porcelainized 

porcelainized 

porcelainized 

porcelainized 

porcelanite 

porcelanite 

porcelanite 

porcelainite 

porphyrize 

porphyrize 

porphyrize 

porphyrize 

postiler 

postiler 

postiler 

postiller 

practise,  v. 

practise,  n.  and*. 

practice,  n.  and  r. 

practise,  v. 

prsemunire 

praemunire 

prsemunire 

preemunire 

pram 

praam 

praam 

pram 

pratique 

pratique 

pratique 

pratic 

precipe 

precipe 

praecipe 

praecipe 

preeminence 

preeminence 

preeminence 

preeminence 

preemption 

preemption 

preemption 

preemption 

preengage 

preengage 

preengage 

preengage 

preestablish 

preestablish 

preestablish 

preestablish 

preexist 

preexist 

preexist 

preexist 

premise,  n. 

premise 

premise 

premise 

pretense 

pretense 

pretense 

pretence 

preterit 

preterit 

preterit 

preterite 

pretor 

pretor 

pretor 

pretor 

primigenial 

primigenial 

primogenial 

primogenial 

prodigalize 

prodigalize 

prodigalize 

prodigalize 

program 

program 

programme 

programme 

proletariate 

proletariat 

proletariat 

proletariat 

prologuizer 

prologizer 

prologizer 

prologizer 

pronunciarniento 

pronunciamento 

promuiciamento 

pronunciamento 

propretor 

propretor 

propretor 

propraetor 

proselytize 

proselytize 

proselytize 

proselytize 

prosopopeia 

prosopopeia 

prosopopoeia 

prosopopoeia 

prothalamium 

prothalamion 

prothalamion 

prothalamion 

protoxid 

protoxid 

protoxide 

protoxide 

proverbialize 

proverbialize 

proverbialize 

proverbialize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     405 

Stormonth  Imperial  Oxford  Divisions 

pommelled  pommelled  pom'mel-ed 

popularise  popularize  pop'u-lar-ize 

porcelainised  porcelaiiiized  porce'lain-ized 

porcellanite  porcellanite  por'ce-lan-ite 

porphyrise  porphyrize  por'phy-rize 

postiller  pos'til-er 

practise,  v.  practise,  v.  prac'tise 

premunire  praemunire  prae-mu-ni're 

praam  pram 

pratique  pratique  pratique 

praecipe  praecipe  pre'ci-pe 

pre-eminence  pre-eminence  pre-em'i-nence 

pre-emption  pre-emption  pre-emp'tion 

pre-engage  pre-engage  pre-en-gage' 

pre-establish  pre-establish  pre-es-tab'lish 

pre-exist  pre-exist  pre-ex-ist' 

premiss  premise  premise 

pretence  pretence  pre-tense' 

preterite  preterit  pret'er-it 

praetor  praetor  pre'tor 

primogenial  primigenial  pri-mi-ge'ni-al 

prodigalise  prodigalize  prodl-gal-ize 

programme  programme  pro'gram 

proletariat  proletariat  pro-le-ta'ri-ate 

prologizer  pro'logu-i-zer 

pronunciamiento  prommciamiento  pro-nun-ci-a-mien'to 

propretor  propraetor  pro-pre'tor 

proselytise  proselytize  pros'e-ly-tize 

prosopopoeia  prosopopeia  pro-so-po-pela 

prothalamium  prothalamium  pro-tha-la'mi-um 

protoxide  protoxide  pro-toxld 

proverbialise  proverbialize  pro-ver'bi-al-ize 
26 


406      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

prunella 

prunella 

prunella 

prunello 

psalmodlze 

psalmodize 

psalmodize 

psalmodize 

pterodactyl 

pterodactyl 

pterodactyl 

pterodactyl 

ptyalin 

ptyalin 

ptyalin 

ptyaline 

pulk 

pulkha 

pulkha 

pulkha 

pulverin 

pulverin 

pulverine 

pulverine 

pulverize 

pulverize 

pulverize 

pulverize 

pupilarity 

pupilarity 

pupillarity 

pupillarity 

puritanize 

Puritanize 

puritanize 

puritanize 

purlin 

purlin 

purlin 

purlin 

purpurin 

purpurin 

purpurin 

purpurine 

putchuk 

pachak 

pachak 

putchuck 

pyroxylin 

pyroxylin 

pyroxylin 

pyroxyline 

quadruman 

quadrumane 

quadrumane 

quadrumaue 

quarreled 

quarreled 

quarreled 

quarrelled 

quarreling 

quarreling 

quarreling 

quarrelling 

quatrefoil 

quarter-foil 

quarterfoil 

quarter-foil 

quercitrin 

quercitrin 

quercitrin 

quercitrine 

questor 

questor 

questor 

questor 

quinzain 

quinzaine 

quinzaine 

quinzaine 

quipu 

quipu 

quipu 

quipo 

racoon 

raccoon 

raccoon       ' 

raccoon 

raguly 

ragul6 

raguled 

raguled 

raja 

raja 

rajah 

rajah 

Rajput 

Rajput 

rajpoot 

Rajpoot 

rampallian 

rampallian 

rampallian 

rampallian 

rancor 

rancor 

rancor 

rancor 

ratan 

rattan 

rattan 

rattan 

ratany 

ratany 

rhatany 

rhatany 

rationalize 

rationalize 

rationalize 

rationalize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     407 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

prunella 

prunella 

psalmodise 

psalmodize 

pterodactyle 

pterodactyl 

ptyalin 

ptyalin 

pulkha 

pulkha 

pulverin 

pulverin 

pulverise 

pulverize 

pupilarity 

pupilarity 

puritanise 

puritanize 

purline 

purlin 

purpurine 

purpurin 

putchock 

putchock 

pyroxyline 

pyroxyline 

quadrumane 

quadruman 

quaiTelled 

quarrelled 

quarrelling 

quarrelling 

quarter-foil 

quatrefoil 

quercitrine 

quercitrin 

quaestor 

questor 

quinzaine 

quinzaine 

quippa 

quipo 

raccoon 

raccoon 

raguled 

raguly 

rajah 

rajah 

rajpoot 

Rajput 

rampallion 

rampallian 

rancour 

rancour 

ratan 

rattan 

rhatany 

ratany 

rationalise 

rationalize 

Oxford 


Jtirisions 
pru-nel'la 
•psal'mo-dize 
pter-o-dac'tyl 
pty'a-lin 

pul've-rin 

pul've-rize 

pu-pi-lar'i-ty 

pu'ri-tan-ize 

pur'lin 

pur'pu-rin 

put-chuk' 

py-rox'y-lin 

quad'ru-man 

quar'rel-ed 

quar'rel-ing 

qua'tre-foil 

quer'cit-rin 

ques'tor 

quin'zain 

qui'pu 

ra-coon' 

rag'u-ly 

ra'ja 

Raj -put' 

ram-pal'lian 

ran'cor 

ra-tan'    , 

rat'a-ny 

ra'tion-al-ize 


408      Comparative  list  of  variable  spell  i  it  </* 


Century 
raveled 

Standard 
raveled 

Webster 
raveled 

Worcester 
ravelled 

Raya 
realize 

raya 
realize 

rayah 
realize 

rayah 
realize 

rebaptize     • 

rebaptize 

rebaptize 

rebaptize 

recognize 

recognize 

recognize 

recognize 

reconnaissance 

reconnaissance 

reconnoissance 

reconnoissiiiH'i.- 

reconnoiter 

reconnoiter 

reconnoiter 

reconnoitre 

redout 

redout 

redoubt 

redoubt 

reecho 

reecho 

reecho 

reecho 

reelect 

reelect 

reelect 

reelect 

reestablish 

reestablish 

reestablish 

reestablish 

referable 

referable 

referable 

referrible 

regime 
regrater 
regularize 
reinforce 

regime 
regrator 
regularize 
reenforce 

regime 
regrater 
regularize 
reenforce 

regime 
regrator 
regularize 
reenforce 

remold 

remold 

remold 

remould 

remonetize 

remonetize 

remonetize 

remonetize 

renovator 

renovator 

renovator 

renovater 

reorganize 
republicanize 

reorganize 
republicanize 

reorganize 
republicanize 

reorganize 
republieaiii/e 

reremouse 

reremouse 

rearmouse 

rearmouse 

reveled 

reveled 

reveled 

revelled 

reverie 

reverie 

reverie 

revery 

revetment 

revetment 

revetment 

revetement 

revolutionize 

revolutionize 

revolutionize 

revolutionize 

reynard 

reynard 

renard 

reynard 

rhabarbarin 

rhabarbarin 

rhabarbarin 

rhabarbariiic 

rhapsodize 
rheometer 

rhapsodize 
rheometer 

rhapsodize 
rheometer 

rhapsodize 
reometer 

rhopalic 

rhopalic 

rhopalic 

ropalic 

rigor 

rigor 

rigor 

rigor 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     409 


Stormonth 
ravelled 

Imperial 
ravelled 

rayah 
realise 

rayah 
realize 

rebaptise 

rebaptize 

recognise 

recognize 

reconnaissance 

reconnaissance 

reconnoitre 

reconnoitre 

redoubt 

redout 

re-echo 

re-echo 

re-elect 

re-elect 

re-establish 

re-establish 

referrible 

referrible 

regime 

regime 

regrator 
regularise 
reinforce 

regrater 
regularize 
reinforce 

remould 

remould 

remoiietise 

remonetize 

renovater 

renovator 

reorganise 
republicanise 

reorganize 
republican]  ze 

reremouse 

rere-mouse 

revelled 

revelled 

reverie 

reverie 

revetment 

revetment 

revolutionise 

revolutionize 

renard 

renard 

rhabarbarin 

rhabarbarin 

rhapsodise 
rheometer 

rhapsodize 
rheometer 

ropalic 

rhopalic 

rigour 

rigour 

Oxford 


Divisions 
rav'el-ed 
Ra'ya 
re'al-ize 
re-bap-tize' 
rec'og-nize 
re-con'nais-sance 
rec-on-noi'ter 
re-dout' 
re-ech'o 
re-e-lect' 
re-es-tab'lish 
ref'er-a-ble 
re-gime' 
re-gra'ter 
reg'u-lar-ize 
re-in-force' 
re-mold' 
re-mon;e-tize 
ren'o-va-tor 
re-or'gan-ize 
re-pub'li-can-ize 
rere'mouse 
rev'el-ed 
rev'e-rie 
re-vet'ment 
rev-o-lu'tion-ize 
rey'nard 
rha-bar'ba-rin 
rhap'so-dize 
rhe-om'e-ter 
rho-pal'ic 
rig'or 


410      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

rime 

rime 

rhyme 

rhyme 

ritornelle 

ritornelle 

ritornelle 

ritornello 

rivaled 

rivaled 

rivaled 

rivalled 

rivaling 

rivaling 

rivaling 

rivalling 

riveled 

riveled 

riveled 

rivelled 

rondo  (music) 

rondo 

rondo 

rondeau 

rotunda 

rotunda 

rotunda 

rotundo 

rowan-tree 

rowan-tree 

rowan  tree 

rowan-tree 

roweled 

roweled 

roweled 

rowelled 

roweling 

roweling 

roweling 

rowelling 

royalize 

royalize 

royalize 

royalize 

rubicel 

rubicel 

rubicelle 

rubicelle 

ruble 

ruble 

ruble 

ruble 

rumor 

rumor 

rumor 

rumor 

ruralize 

ruralize 

ruralize 

ruralize 

russeting 

russeting 

russeting 

russetting 

saber 

saber 

saber 

sabre 

sabered 

sabered 

sabered 

sabred 

sabretash 

sabretache 

sabre  tasche 

sabretache 

salaam 

salaam 

galam,  n. 
salaam,  v. 

salam 

salable 

salable 

salable 

salable 

saleratus 

saleratus 

saleratus 

saleratus 

salicin 

salicin 

salicin 

salicine 

salite 

salite 

salite 

sahlite 

salmi 

salmi 

salmis 

salmis 

salmon-peal 

salmon-peal 

salmon  peel 

salmon-peel 

saltier 

saltier 

saltire 

saltier 

saltpeter 

saltpeter 

saltpeter 

saltpetre 

samara 

samara 

samara 

samara 

samson-post 

samson 

Samson  post 

Samson's-post 

sandaled 

sandaled 

sandaled 

sandalled 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     411 


Stormonth 

rhyme 
ritornelle 

Imperial 
rhyme 
ritornelle 

rivalled 

rivalled 

rivalling 
rivelled 

rivalling 
rivelled 

rondeau 

rondeau 

rotunda 

rotunda 

roan-tree 

rowan-tree 

rowelled 

rowelled 

rowelling 
royalise 
rubicelle 

rowelling 
royalize 
rubicel 

rouble 

rouble 

rumour 

rumour 

ruralise 

ruralize 

russeting 

russeting 

sabre 

sabre 

sabred 

sabred 

sabretasche 

sabretache 

salam 

salaam 

saleable 

saleable 

salseratus 

saleratus 

salicine 

salicin 

sahlite 

salite 

salmi 

salmi 

salmon-peel 
saltier 

saltire 

saltpetre 

saltpetre 

samar 

samara 

Samson's  post 
sandalled 

Samson's-post 
sandalled 

Oxford 


Divisions 

ri-tor-nelle' 

ri'val-ed 

ri'val-ing 

riv'el-ed 

ron'do 

ro-tun'da 

row'an-tree 

row'el-ed 

row'el-ing 

roy'al-ize 

ru'bi-cel 

ru'ble 

ru'mor 

ru  ral-ize 

rus'set-ing 

sa'ber 

sa'ber-ed 

sa'bre-tash 

sa-laam' 

sa'la-ble 

sal-e-ra'tus 

sal'i-cin 

sa'lite 

sal'mi 

sal'mon-peal 

sal'tier 

salt-pe'ter 

sa-ma'ra 

sam'son-post 

san'dal-ed 


412      Comparative  list  of  variable  s 


Century 
sanhedrim 

Standard 
Sanhedrin 

Webster 
Sanhedrin 

Worcester 
Sanhedrim 

sanjak 
Sanskrit 

sanjak 
Sanskrit 

sanjak 
Sanskrit 

sanjak 
Sanscrit 

santalin 

santaline 

santalin 

santaline 

santonin 

santonin 

santonin 

santonine 

sapajou 
sapodilla 

sapajou 
sapodilla 

sapajou 
sapodilla 

sapajo 
sappodilla 

saponin 
sarlak 
sarmentose 

saponin 
sarlak 
sarmentose 

saponin 
sarlac 
sarmentose 

saponine 
sarlyk 
sarmentose 

sarsenet 

sarsenet 

sarcenet 

sarcenet 

sassolin 

sassolin 

sassolin 

sassoline 

satirize 

satirize 

satirize 

satirize 

savanna 

savanna 

savanna 

savanna 

savior  l 

savior 

savior 

saviour 

savor 

savor 

savor 

savor 

Sawney 
scandalize 

Sawney 
scandalize 

scandalize 

Sawney 
scandalize 

scepter 
sceptered 
schematize 

scepter 
sceptered 
schematize 

scepter 
sceptered 
schematize 

sceptre 
sceptred 
schematize 

schismatize 

schismatize 

schismatize 

schismatize 

scrutinize 

scrutinize 

scrutinize 

scrutinize 

scurril 

scurril 

scurrile 

scurrile 

scurry 
seamstress 

scurry 
seamstress 

scurry 
seamstress 

scurry 

seamstress 

sectarianize 

sectarianize 

sectarianize 

sectarianize 

secularize 

secularize 

secularize 

secularize 

seizin  seizin  seizin  seism 

seleniureted  seleniureted  seleniureted  seleniuretted 

semiology  semeiology  semeiology  semeiology 

Semitic  Semitic  Semitic  Shemitic 

1  Saviour  is  more  approved  as  the  synonym  for  Jesus  Christ. 


Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     413 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Sanhedrim 

sanhedrim 

sangiac 

sanjak 

Sanskrit 

Sanskrit 

santaline 

santaline 

santonine 

santonin 

sapajou 

sapajou 

sapodilla 

sapodilla 

saponine 

saponine 

sarlac 

sarlac 

sarraentous 

sarmentose 

sarcenet 

sarcenet 

sassoline 

sassolin 

satirise 

satirize 

savannah 

savanna 

saviour 

saviour 

savour 

savour 

Sawny 

Sawney 

scandalise 

scandalize 

sceptre 

sceptre 

sceptred 

sceptred 

schematise 

schematize 

schismatise 

schismatize 

scrutinise 

scrutinize 

scurrile 

scurrile 

skurry 

scurry 

sempstress 

seamstress 

sectarianise 

sectarianize 

secularise 

secularize 

seizin 

seizin 

seleniuretted 

seleniuretted 

semeiology 

semeiology 

Shemitic 

Semitic 

Oxford 


Divisions 
san'he-drim 
san'jak 
San'skrit 
san'ta-lin 
san'to-nin 
sap'a-jou 
sap-o-dil'la 
sap'o-nin 
sar'lak 
sar-men'tose 
sarce'net 
sas'so-lin 
sat'i-rize 
sa-van'na 
sa'vior 
sa'vor 
Saw'ney 
scan'dal-ize 
scep'ter 
scep'ter-ed 
sehe'ma-tize 
schis'ma-tize 
scru'ti-nize 
scur'ril 
scur'ry 
seam'stress 
sec-ta'ri-an-ize 
see'u-lar-ize 
sei'zin 

se-le'niu-ret-ed 
se-mi-ol'o-gy 
Se-mit'ic 


414      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

semolina 

semolina 

semolina 

semolella 

sensualize 

sensualize 

sensualize 

sensualize 

sentimentalize 

sentimentalize 

sentimentalize 

sentimentalize 

sentineled 

sentineled 

sentineled 

sentinelled 

sepulcher 

sepulcher 

sepulcher 

sepulchre 

sergeant 

sergeant 

sergeant 

sergeant 

sermonize 

sermonize 

sermonize 

sermonize 

seroon 

seroon 

ceroon 

seron 

sesquioxid 

sesquioxid 

sesquioxide 

sesquioxide 

sesquisulphid 

sesquisulfld 

sesquisulphide 

sesquisulphide 

sexualize 

sexualize 

sexualize 

sexualize 

Shaksperian 

Shakespearian 

Shakespearean 

Shakespearian 

shaster 

shastra 

shaster 

shaster 

sheldapple 

sheldapple 

sheldafle 

sheldafle 

shellac 

shellac 

shell-lac 

shellac 

shelty 

sheltie 

sheltie 

sheltie 

sherif  (Turk.) 

sherif 

shereef 

sherif 

shinny 

shinny 

shinty 

shinty 

shoveled 

shoveled 

shoveled 

shovelled 

shoveler 

shoveler 

shoveler 

shoveller 

shriveled 

shriveled 

shriveled 

shrivelled 

sialogogue 

sialogogue 

sialogogue 

sialagogue 

signaled 

signaled 

signaled 

signalled 

signaling 

signaling 

signaling 

signalling 

signalize 

signalize 

signalize 

signalize 

silica 

silica 

silica 

silica 

silicious 

silicious 

siliceous 

silicious 

sillibub 

sillibub 

sillabub 

sillabub 

simitar 

simitar 

scimiter 

scymitar 

skean 

skean 

skean 

skain 

skeptic 

skeptic 

skeptic 

sceptic 

skilful 

skilful 

skillful 

skilful 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     415 


Stormonth  Imperial 

semolina  semolina 

sensualise  sensualize 

sentimentalise  sentimentalize 

sentinelled  sentinelled 

sepulchre  sepulchre 

serjeant  sergeant 

sermonise  sermonize 


seron 

sesquioxide 

sesquisulphide 

sexualise 

Shakespearian 

sastra 

sheldafle 

shellac 

sheltie 

scherif 

shinty 

shovelled 

shoveller 

shrivelled 

sialagogue 

signalled 

signalling 

signalise 

silex 

siliceous 

sillabub 

cimeter 

skean 

sceptic 

skilful 


seroon 

sesquioxide 

sesquisulphide 

sexualize 

Shaksperian 

shaster 

sheldafle 

shell-lac 

sheltie 

shereef 

shinty 

shovelled 

shoveller 

shrivelled 

sialogogue 

signalled 

signalling 

signalize 

silica 

siliceous 

sillabub 

scimitar 

skean 

sceptic 

skilful 


Oxford  Divisions 

sem-o-li'na 
sen'su-al-ize 
.*          sen-ti-men'tal-ize 
sen'ti-nel-ed 
sep'ul-cher 
ser'geant 
ser'mon-ize 
se-roon' 
ses-qui-ox'id 
ses-qui  -  sul  'phid 
sex'u-al-ize 
Shak-spe'ri-an 
shas'ter 
shel'dap-ple 
shellac 
shel'ty 
she-rif' 
shin'ny 
shov'el-ed 
shov'el-er 
shriv'el-ed 
si-al'o-gogue 
sig'nal-ed 
sig'nal-ing 
sig'nal-ize 
sil'i-ca 
si-li'cious 
sil'li-bub 
sim'i-tar 

skep'tic 
skil'ful 


416      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
Slavonian 

Standard 
Slavonian 

Webster 
Slavonian 

Worcester 
Slavonian 

sluggardize 
smolder 

sluggardize 
sm<|lder 

sluggardize 
smolder 

sluggardize 
smoulder 

sniveler 

sniveler 

sniveler 

sniveller 

soberize 

soberize 

soberize 

soberize 

soboles 

sobole 

soboles 

soboles 

socialize 

socialize 

socialize 

socialize 

Socotran 

Socotran 

Socotrine 

Socotrine 

soke 

soc 

soc 

soc 

solarization 

solarization 

solarization 

solarization 

solecize 

solecize 

solecize 

solecize 

solemnize 

solemnize 

solemnize 

solemnize 

solemnizing 
soliloquize 
solmization 

solemnizing 
soliloquize 
solmization 

solemnizing 
soliloquize 
solmization 

solemnizing 
soliloquize 
solmization 

somber 

somber 

somber 

sombre 

sombering 
somersault 

sombering 
somersault 

sombering 
somersault 

sombrmg 
somerset 

sonnetize 

sonnetize 

sonnetize 

sonnetize 

sorbin 

sorbin 

sorbin 

sorbine 

sowens 

sowens 

sowens 

sowens 

spagiric 
spahee 
spanceled 
specialization 

spagyric 
spahi 
spanceled 
specialization 

spagyric 
spahi 
spanceled 
specialization 

spagyric 
spahee 
spancelled 
specialization 

specter 

specter 

specter 

spectre 

spense 
spherulite 
spicknel 
spiritualize 
splendor 
splendorous 

spence 
spherulite 
spicknel 
spiritualize 
splendor 
splendrous 

spence 
spherulite 
spicknel 
spiritualize 
splendor 
splendrous 

spence 
spherulite 
spignel 
spiritualize 
splendor 
splendrous 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     417 


Stormonth 

Imperial 

Sclavonian 

Slavonic 

sluggardise 

sluggardize 

smoulder 

smoulder 

sniveller 

sniveller 

soberise 

soberize 

sobol 

soboles 

socialise 

socialize 

Socotrine 

Socotran,  ». 
Socotrine,  a. 

soc 

SOC 

solarisation 

solarization 

solecise 

solecize 

solemnise 

solemnize 

solemnising 

solemnizing 

soliloquise 

soliloquize 

solmisation 

solmization 

sombre 

sombre 

sombring 

sombring 

somersault 

somersault 

sonnetise 

sonnetize 

sorbin 

sorbine 

sowans 

sowens 

spagyric 

spagyric 

spahi 

spahee 

spancelled 

spancelled 

specialisation 

specialization 

spectre 

spectre 

spence 

spence 

sphserulite 

spherulite 

spignel 

spignel 

spiritualise 

spiritualize 

splendour 

splendour 

splendrous 

Oxford 


Divisions 
Sla-vo'ni-an 
slug'gar-dize 
smol'der 
sniv'el-er 
so'ber-ize 
sob'o-les 
so'cial-ize 
Soc'o-tran 

so-lar-i-za'tion 

sol'e-cize 

sol'em-nize 

sol'em-niz-ing 

so-lil'o-quize 

sol-mi-za'tion 

som'ber 

som'ber-ing 

som'er-sault 

son'net-ize 

sor'bin 

sow'ens 

spa-gir'ie 

spa'hee 

span'cel-ed 

spe-cial-i-za'tion 

spec'ter 

spher'u-lite 

spick'nel 

spir'i-tu-al-ize 

splen'dor 

splen'dor-ous 


418        Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

splenization 

splenization 

splenization 

splenization 

spoony 

spoony 

spooney 

spooney 

spuilzie 

spulye 

spulzie 

spuilzie 

spurry 

spurry 

spurry 

spurrey 

spurtle 

spurtle 

spurtle 

spirtle 

squinny 

squinny 

squiny 

squiny 

squirearchy 

squirearchy 

squirarchy 

squirarchy 

stadholder 

stadholder 

stadtholder 

stadtholder 

staniel 

staniel 

stannel 

stannel 

stathe 

staith 

staith 

staith 

steen 

steen 

steen 

stean 

stenciler 

stenciler 

stenciler 

stenciller 

sterilize 

sterilize 

sterilize 

sterilize 

stigmatize 

stigmatize 

stigmatize 

stigmatize 

stitchwort 

stitchwort 

stichwort 

stitchwort 

stith 

stith 

stith 

stith 

stolon 

stolon 

stolon 

stolon 

Stoop  (vessel) 

stoop 

stoup 

stoup 

stoor 

stoor 

stour 

stour 

strokle 

strokle 

strockle 

strocal 

strumose 

strumose 

strumous 

strumose 

strychnine 

strychnin 

strychnine 

strychnia 

stylar 

stylar 

stilar 

stylar 

styracin 

styracin 

styracin 

styracine 

suage 

suage 

suage 

suage 

subbass 

subbass 

sub-bass 

subbass 

suberin 

suberin 

suberin 

suberine 

subfusk 

subfusk 

subfuscous 

subfusc 

subsidize 

subsidize 

subsidize 

subsidize 

subsidizing 

subsidizing 

subsidizing 

subsidizing 

subtilize 

subtilize 

subtilize 

subtilize 

subungual 

subungual 

subungual 

subunguial 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     419 


Stor  month 
splenisation 

Imperial 
splenization 

spooney 
spulye 

spoony 
spuilzie 

spurry 
spurtle 

spurrey 
spurtle 

squiny 
squirearchy 
stadtholder 

squiny 
squirearchy 
stadtholder 

staniel 

stannel 

staith 

staith 

stean 

steen 

stenciller 

stenciller 

sterilise 

sterilize 

stigmatise 
stitchwort 

stigmatize 
stitchwort 

stithe 

stith 

stole 

stolon 

stoup 
stour 

stoup 
stour 

strocal 

strocal 

stmmous 

strumose 

strychnine 
stilar 

strychnia 
stylar 

styracine 

styracine 

swage 
sub-base 

suage 
sub-base 

suberin 

suberin 

subfusc 

subfusk 

subsidise 

subsidize 

subsidising 
subtilise 

subsidizing 
subtilize 

subungual 

subungual 

Oxford 


Divisions 
sple-ni-za'tion 

spuil'zie 

spur'ry 

spur'tle 

squin'ny 

squire'ar-chy 

stad'hold-er 

stan'iel 


sten'eil-er 
ster'il-ize 
stig'ma-tize 
stitch'wort 

sto'lon 


stro'kle 

stru'mose 

strych'nine 

sty'lar 

styr'a-cin 

sub'bass 

su'be-rin 

sub-fusk' 

sub'si-dize 

sub'si-diz-ing 

sub'til-ize 

sub-un'gual 


420      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

succor 

succor 

succor 

succor 

sufl 

sufi 

sufi 

son 

sulphid 

sulfid 

sulphide 

sulphide 

sulphurated 

sulfureted 

sulphureted 

sulphuretted 

sumac 

sumac 

sumac 

sumach 

summarize 

summarize 

summarize 

summarize 

supawn 

supawn 

supawn 

supawn 

surquidry 

surquedry 

surquedry 

surquedry 

suslik 

souslik 

suslik 

souslik 

sweetbrier 

sweetbrier 

sweetbrier 

sweetbrier 

swingletree 

swingletree 

singletree 

swingletree 

syenite 

syenite 

syenite 

sienite 

syllogize 

syllogize 

syllogize 

syllogize 

symbolize 

symbolize 

symbolize 

symbolize 

symmetrize 

symmetrize 

symmetrize 

symmetrize 

sympathize 

sympathize 

sympathize 

sympathize 

symphonize 

symphonize 

symphonize 

symphonize 

synalephe 

synalepha 

synalepha 

synalo?pha 

synchronize 

synchronize 

synchronize 

synchronize 

syncopize 

syncopize 

syncopize 

syncopize 

syneresis 

syneresis 

synseresis 

syngeresis 

synonym 

synonym 

synonym 

synonyme 

synonymize 

synonymize 

synonymize 

synonymize 

synthesize 

synthesize 

synthesize 

synthesize 

syphilization 

syphilization 

syphilization 

syphilization 

syrup 

sirup 

sirup 

sirup 

systematize 

systematize 

systematize 

systematize 

tabor 

tabor 

tabor 

tabor 

foVtrvrof  (dim.  of 

taooret  j.abor) 

taboret 

taboret 

taboret 

taborine 

taborine 

taborine 

tabourine 

tachylyte 

tachylyte 

tachylyte 

tachylite 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     421 


Stor  month 

Imperial 

succour 

succour 

soft 

sofi 

sulphide 

sulphide 

sulphuretted 

sulphuretted 

sumach 

sumac 

summarise 

summarize 

sepawn 

supawn 

surquedry 

surquedrie 

suslik 

suslik 

sweet-briar 

sweet-brier 

swingletree 

swing-tree 

syenite 

syenite 

syllogise 

syllogize 

symbolise 

symbolize 

symmetrise 

symmetrize 

sympathise 

sympathize 

symphonise 

symphonize 

synalepha 

synalepha 

synchronise 

synchronize 

syncopise 

syncopize 

synseresis 

synaeresis 

synonym 

synonym 

synonymise 

synonymize 

synthesise 

synthesise 

syphilisation 

syphilization 

syrup 

syrup 

systematise 

systematize 

tabour 

tabor 

tabouret 

taboret 

tabourine 

taborine 

tachylite 

tachylite 

27 

Oxford 


Divisions 
suc'cor 
su'fi 
sul'phid 
sul'phu-ret-ed 
su'mac 
sum'ma-rize 
su-pawn' 
sur'qui-dry 
sus'lik 
sweet'bri-er 
swin'gle-tree 
sy'e-nite 
syl'lo-gize 
sym'bol-ize 
sym'me-trize 
sym'pa-thize 
sym'pho-nize 
syn-a-le'phe 
syn'chro-nize 
syn'co-pize 
sy-ner'e-sis 
syn'o-nym 
sy-non'y-mize 
syn'the-size 
syph-i-li-za'tion 
syr'up 
sys'tem-a-tize 

ta'bor 
tab'or-et 
tab'or-ine 
tach'y-lyte 


422      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
taffrail 

Standard 
taffrail 

Webster 
taffrail 

Worcester 
taffrail 

taffy 
tailage 
talapoin 
talipes 
talukdar 

taffy 
tailage 
talapoin 
talipes 
talukdar 

taffy 
tailage 
talapoin 
talipes 
talookdar 

taffy 
tailage 
talapin 
talipes 
talookdar 

tantalize 

tantalize 

tantalize 

tantalize 

targeteer 
tarpaulin 
tartarize 

targeteer 
tarpaulin 
tartarize 

targeteer 
tarpaulin 
tartarize 

targetier 
tarpauliug 
tartarize 

tasseled 

tasseled 

tasseled 

tasselled 

Tatar 

Tatar 

Tartar 

Tartar 

taurocol 

taurocol 

taurocol 

taurocol 

tautologize 
teazel,  v. 
teazel,  n. 
teazeled 

tautologize 
teazel 
teazel 
teazeled 

tautologize 
teasel 
teasel 
teaseled 

tautologize 
teazle 
teasel 
teazled 

tegmen 
tellureted 

tegmen 
tellureted 

tegmen 
tellureted 

tegument 
telluretted 

tellurion 

tellurian 

tellurian 

tellurian 

templet 

templet 

templet 

templet 

temporize 

temporize 

temporize 

temporize 

temporizing 
tenail 

temporizing 
tenail 

temporizing 
tenaille 

temporizing 
tenaille 

tercel 

tercel 

tiercel 

tiercel 

terre-plein 
territorialize 

terreplem 
territorialize 

terreplein 
territorialize 

terre-plein 
territorialize 

terrorize 

terrorize 

terrorize 

teiTorize 

tessellate 

tessellate 

tessellate 

tessellate 

theater 

theater 

theater 

theatre 

theologize 
theorize 

theologize 
theorize 

theologize 
theorize 

theologize 
theorize 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     423 


Stormonth 
tafferel 

Imperial 
taffrail 

toffy 
tallage 
talapoyn 
taliped 
talookdar 

taffy 
tailage 
talapoin 
talipes 
talookdar 

tantalise 

tantalize 

targeteer 
tarpaulin 
tartarise 

targeteer 
tarpaulin 
tartarize 

tasselled 

tasselled 

Tartar 

Tartar 

taurocoll 

taurocoll 

tautologise 
teasel 

tautologize 
teasel 

teasel 

teasel 

teaseled 

tegmen 
telluretted 

tegument 
telluretted 

tellurion 

tellurion 

template 
temporise 
temporising 
tenaille 

templet 
temporize 
temporizing 
tenail 

tiercel 

tiercel 

terre-plain 
territorialise 

terre-plein 
territorialize 

terrorise 

terrorize 

tesselate 

theatre 

theatre 

theologise 
theorise 

theologize 
theorize 

Oxford 


Divisions 
taff'rail 
taffy 
tail'age 
tal'a-poin 
tal'i-pes 
ta-luk'dar 
tan'tal-ize 
tar-ge-teer' 
tar-pau'lin 
tar'tar-ize 
tas'sel-ed 
Ta'tar 
tau'ro-col 
tau-tol'o-gize 
tea'zel 
tea'zel 
tea'zel-ed 
teg'men 
tel'lu-ret-ed 
tel-lu'ri-on 
tem'plet 
tem'po-rize 
tem'po-riz-ing 
te-nail' 
ter'cel 
terre'plein 
ter-ri-to'ri-al-ize 
ter'ror-ize 
tes'sel-late 
the'a-ter 
the-ol'o-gize 
the'o-rize 


424     Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

theosophize 

theosophize 

theosophize 

theosophize 

Thomism 

Thomism 

Thomism 

Thomaism 

thorium 

thorium 

thorium 

thorinum 

threnody 

threnody 

threnode 

threnody 

tiffing 

tiffing 

tiffin 

tiffin 

tigerish 

tigerish 

tigerish 

tigrish 

timbal 

timbal 

tymbal 

tymbal 

timbreled 

timbreled 

timbreled 

timbrelled 

tinchel 

tinchel 

tinchel 

tinchell 

tinseled 

tinseled 

tinseled 

tinselled 

tinseling 

tinseling 

tinseling 

tinselling 

titbit 

titbit 

tidbit 

tidbit 

toluene 

toluene 

toluene 

toluole 

tom-tom 

tom-tom 

tam-tam 

tomtom 

totalize 

totalize 

totalize 

totalize 

tourmalin 

tourmalin 

tourmaline 

tourmaline 

toweling 

toweling 

toweling 

towelling 

trammeled 

trammeled 

trammeled 

trammelled 

tranquilize 

tranquilize 

tranquilize 

tranquillize 

tranship 

transship 

transship 

transship 

trass 

trass 

trass 

tarras 

traveled 

traveled 

traveled 

travelled 

traveler 

traveler 

traveler 

traveller 

traveling 

traveling 

traveling 

travelling 

travertin 

travertin 

travertine 

travertine 

tribunicial 

tribunicial 

tribunitial 

tribunitial 

tricolor 

tricolor 

tricolor 

tricolor 

tridactyl 

tridactyl 

tridactyl 

tridactyl 

trilith 

trihth 

trilithon 

trilithon 

trioxid 

trioxid 

trioxide 

trioxide 

trivet 

trivet 

trivet 

trevet 

trompe 

trompe 

tromp 

tromp 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     425 


Stormonth 
theosophise 
Thomaism 

Imperial 
theosophize 
Thomaism 

thorium 

thorium 

threnody 
tiffin 

threnode 
threnody 

tiffin 

tigerish 
timbal 
timbrelled 

tigrish 
tymbal 
timbrelled 

tinchel 

tinchel 

tinselled 

tinselled 

tinselling 
tid-bit 

tinselling 
tidbit 

toluene 

toluene 

tam-tam 

tam-tam 

totalise 

totalize 

tourmaline 

tourmalin 

towelling 
trammelled 

towelling 
trammelled 

tranquillise 
trans-ship 

tranquillize 
tranship 

trass 

trass 

travelled 

travelled 

traveller 

traveller 

travelling 
travertine 

travelling 
travertin 

tribunitial 

tribuuician 

tricolour 

tricolour 

tridactylous 
trilith 

tridactyle 
trilith 

trioxide 

trioxide 

trevet 

trivet 

tromp 

tromp 

Oxford 


Divisions 
the-os'o-phize 
Tho'mism 
tho'ri-um 
thren'o-dy 
tiffing 
ti'ger-ish 
tim'bal 
tim'brel-ed 
tin'chel 
tin'sel-ed 
tin'sel-ing 
tit'bit 
tol'u-ene 
tom'tom 
to'tal-ize 
tour'ma-lin 
tow'el-ing 
tram'mel-ed 
tran'quil-ize 
tran-ship' 

trav'el-ed 

trav'el-er 

trav'el-ing 

trav'er-tin 

trib-u-ni'cial 

tri'col-or 

tri-dac'tyl 

tri'lith 

tri-ox'id 

triv'et 


426      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
tropologize 
troweled 

Standard 
tropologize 
troweled 

Webster 
tropologize 
troweled 

Worcester 
tropologize 
trowelled 

trullization 

trullization 

trullization 

trullization 

tsetse 

tsetse 

tsetse 

tzetze 

tumor 

tumor 

tumor 

tumor 

tunneled 

tunneled 

tunneled 

tunnelled 

tunneling 
Turkoman 

tunneling 
Turkoman 

tunneling 
Turcoman 

tunnelling 
Turkoman 

turnsol 

turnsole 

turnsole 

turnsole 

tusser 

tussur 

tussah 

tussah 

tussock-grass 
tweeze 

tussock-grass 
tweeze 

tussock  grass 
tweese 

tussac-grass 
tweese 

twibill 

twibil 

twibil 

twibil 

twyer 
tympanize 
tyrannize 
tyrolite 

tuyere 
tympanize 
tyrannize 
tyrolite 

tuyere 
tympanize 
tyrannize 
tyrolite 

tuyere 
tympanize 
tyrannize 
tyrolite 

udaler 

udaler 

udaler 

udaller 

uhlan 

uhlan 

uhlan 

ulan 

ulinin 

ulmin 

ulmin 

ulmine 

unappareled 
unauthorized 

unappareled 
unauthorized 

unappareled 
unauthorized 

unapparelled 
unauthorized 

unbaptized 
unbiased 

unbaptized 
unbiased 

unbaptized 
unbiased 

unbaptized 

unbiassed 

unburden 

unburden 

unburden 

unburden 

unclench 

unclench 

unclinch 

unclinch 

unharbor 

unharbor 

unharbor 

unharbor 

universalize 

universalize 

universalize 

universalize 

unkempt 
unmold 

unkempt 
unmold 

unkempt 
unmold 

unkemmed 
unmould 

unraveler 

unraveler 

unraveler 

unraveller 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     427 


Stor  month 

Imperial 

tropologise 

tropologize 

trowelled 

trowelled 

trullisation 

trullization 

tsetse 

tsetse 

tumour 

tumour 

tunnelled 

tunnelled 

tunnelling 

tunnelling 

Turcoman 

Turkoman 

turnsol 

turnsole 

tussur 

tussac-grass 

tussock-grass 

tweese 

tweese 

twibill 

twibill 

tuyere 

tuyere 

tympanise 

tympanize 

tyrannise 

tyrannize 

tirolite 

tyrolite 

udaller 

udaller 

ulan 

uhlan 

ulmin 

ulmin 

unapparelled 

unapparelled 

unauthoiised 

unauthorized 

unbaptised 

unbaptized 

unbiassed 

unbiassed 

unburthen 

unburthen 

unclinch 

unclench 

unharbour 

unharbour 

universalise 

universalize 

unkempt 

unkempt 

unmould 

unmould 

unraveller 

unraveller 

Oxford 


Divisions 
tro-pol'o-gize 
trow'el-ed 
trul-li-za'tion 
tset'se 
tu'mor 
tun'nel-ed 
tun'nel-ing 
Tur'ko-man 
turn'sol 
tus'ser 
tus'sock-grass 

twi'biU 

twy'er 

tym'pa-nize 

tyr'an-nize 

tyr'o-lite 

u'dal-er 

uhlan 

ul'min 

un-ap-par'el-ed 

un-au'thor-ized 

un-bap-tized' 

un-bi'as-ed 

un-bur'den 

un-clench' 

un-har'bor 

u  ni-ver'sal-ize 

un-kempt' 

un-mold' 

un-rav'el-er 


428      Comparative  list  .of  variable  spellings 


Century 
uranography 

Standard 
uranography 

Webster 
uranography 

Worcester 
uranography 

uremia 

uremia 

uraemia 

uraemia 

utas 

utas 

utas 

utas 

utilize 

utilize 

utilize 

utilize 

vagabondize 
valor 

vagabondize 
valor 

vagabondize 
valor 

vagabondize 
valor 

vapor 
vaporization 

vapor 
vaporization 

vapor 
vaporization 

vapor 
vaporization 

vavasor 

vavasor 

vavasor 

vavasor 

ventriloquize 

ventriloquize 

ventriloquize 

ventriloquize 

Venue  (in  fencing; 

verbalize 

i  venue    ' 
verbalize 

venew 
verbalize 

veney 
verbalize 

versicolor 

versicolor 

versicolor 

versicolor 

via 

via 

via 

via 

vial 

vial 

vial 

vial 

viciosity 
victimize 

viciosity 
victimize 

vitiosity 
victimize 

vitiosity 
victimize 

victualer 

victualer 

victualer 

victualler 

vicugna 

vicugna 

vicuna 

vicuna 

vigor 
villain  (serf) 

vigor 
villain 

vigor 
villain 

vigor 
villein 

villainize 

villainize 

villanize 

villainous 

villainous 

villainous 

villanous 

villainy 
villeinage 
villous 

villainy 
villenage 
villous 

villainy 
villanage 
villous 

villany 
villeinage 
villous 

vise  (a  tool) 

vise 

vise 

vice 

visualize 

visualize 

visualize 

visualize 

vitalize 

vitalize 

vitalize 

vitalize 

vizir 

vizier 

vizier 

vizier 

vizor 

vizor 

visor 

visor 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     429 


Stormonth  Imperial 

ouranography  uranography 

uraemia  uraemia 

utis  utis 

utilise  utilize  . 


Oxford 


vagabondise 
valour 

vagabondize 
valour 

vapour 
vaporisation 

vapour 
vaporization 

vavasour 

vavasor 

ventriloquise 

ventriloquize 

venew 

venue 

verbalise 

verbalize 

versicolour 

versicolour 

via 

via 

phial 

vial 

viciosity 
victimise 

viciosity 
victimize 

victualler 

victualler 

vicugna 

vicugna 

vigour 
villein 

vigour 
villain 

villainise 

villanize 

villainous 

villainous 

villainy 
villeinage 
villose 

villainy 
villenage 
villous 

vice 

vice 

visualise 

visualise 

vitalise 

vitalize 

vizier 

vizier 

visor 

visor 

Divisions 
u  ra-nog'ra-phy 
u  re'mi-a 
u'tas 
u'til-ize 

vag'a-bond-ize 

val'or 

va'por 

va-por-i-za'tion 

vav'a-sor 

ven-tril'o-quize 

ven'ue 

ver'bal-ize 

ver'si-col-or 

vi'al 

vi'ci-os'i-ty 

vic'tim-ize 

vic'tual-er 

vi-cu'gna 

vig'or 

villain 

vil'lain-ize 

vil'lain-ous 

vil'lain  y 

vil'lein-age 

vil'lous 

vi'su-al-ize 
vi'tal-ize 
vi-zir' 
viz'or 


430      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 

Standard 

Webster 

Worcester 

vocalize 

vocalize 

vocalize 

vocalize 

voivode 

waywode 

waywode 

voivode 

volatilize 

volatilize 

volatilize 

volatilize 

voltzine 

voltzite 

voltzite 

voltzine 

voweled 

voweled 

voweled 

vowelled 

vowelize 

vowelize 

vowelize 

vowelize 

vulcanize 

vulcanize 

vulcanize 

vulcanize 

vulgarize 

vulgarize 

vulgarize 

vulgarize 

wadi 

wadi 

wady 

wady 

wagon 

wagon 

wagon 

wagon 

Wahabi 

Wahabi 

Wahabee 

Wahabee 

waiment 

waiment 

wayment 

wayment 

wainscoting 

wainscoting 

wainscoting 

wainscoting 

wapenshaw 

wapenshaw 

wapinschaw 

wappinschaw 

weeviled 

weeviled 

weeviled 

weevilled 

weir 

weir 

weir 

wear 

welsher 

welsher 

welsher 

welsher 

wergild 

wergild 

weregild 

weregild 

werwolf 

werwolf 

werewolf 

were-wolf 

whiffletree 

whipple-tree 

whippletree 

whippletree 

whimsy 

whimsy 

whimsey 

whimsey 

whinyard 

whinyard 

whinyard 

whinyard 

whisky 

whisky 

whisky 

whiskey 

whizz 

whiz 

whiz 

whiz 

whopper 

whopper 

whapper 

whopper 

wilful 

wilful 

willful 

wilful 

wivern 

wivern 

wiver 

wiver 

woeful 

woful 

woeful 

woful 

wold 

wold 

wold 

wold 

woodruff 

woodruff 

woodruff 

woodroof 

woolen 

woolen 

woolen 

woollen 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     431 


Stormonth 
vocalise 

Imperial 
vocalize 

vaivode 
volatilise 

waywode 
volatilize 

voltzine 

voltzine 

vowelled 

vowelled 

vowelise 

vowelize 

vulcanise 

vulcanize 

vulgarise 

vulgarize 

wady 

wady 

waggon 
Wahabee 

wagon 
Wahabee 

wayment 

waiment 

wainscotting 
wapinschaw 
weevilled 

wainscotting 
wapenshaw 
weevilled 

wear 

weir 

welcher 

welcher 

weregild 
werewolf 

wergild 
werewolf 

wkiffle-tree 
whimsey 
whinger 
whisky 
whiz 

whipple-tree 
whimsey 
whinyard 
whisky 
whiz 

whapper 
wilful 

whopper 
wilful 

wyvern 

woful 

wyvern 
woeful 

weald 

wold 

woodroof 

woodruff 

woollen 

woollen 

Oxford 


Divisions 
vo'cal-ize 
voi'vode 
vol'a-til-ize 
volt'zine 
vow'el-ed 
vow'el-ize 
vul'can-ize 
vul'gar-ize 


wagon 

Wa-ha'bi 

wai'ment 

wain'scot-ing 

wap'en-shaw 

wee'vil-ed 

welsh'er 

wer'gild 

wer'wolf 

whif'  fle-tree 

whim'sy 

whin'yard 

whis'ky 

whop 'per 
wil'ful 
wi'vern 
woe'ful 

wood'ruff 
wool'en 


432      Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings 


Century 
worshiped 
worshiper 
Wycliflte 

Standard 
worshiped 
worshiper 

Wycliflte 

Webster 
worshiped 
worshiper 
Wyclifite 

Worcester 
worshipped 
worshipper 
Wickliffite 

xanthin  xanthin  xanthin  xanthine 

xanthophyl        xanthophyl        xanthophyll       xanthophyll 
xyloidine  xyloidin  xyloidin  xyloidine 


yernut 


yer-nut 


vernut 


yernut 


zaffer 

zaffer 

zaffer 

zaffre 

zemindar 

zemindar 

zamindar 

zemindar 

zinkiferous 

zinkiferous 

zinciferous 

zinciferous 

zinkite 

zincite 

zincite 

zincite 

zoetrope 
zoology 

zoetrope 
zoology 

zoetrope 
zoology 

zoetrope 
zoology 

Comparative  list  of  variable  spellings     433 


Stormonth 
worshipped 
worshipper 

Wickliffite 


Imperial 
worshipped 
worshipper 
Wickliffite 


Oxford 


xanthine  xanthin 

xanthophyll       xanthophyll 
xyloidine  xyloidine 


yar-nut 

zaffre 

zemindar 

zinciferous 

zincite 

zoetrope 

zoology 


yer-nut 

zaffre 

zemindar 

zinciferous 

zincite 

zoetrope 

zoology 


Divisions 
wor'ship-ed 
wor'ship-er 
Wyc'lif-ite 

xan'thin 

xan'tho-phyl 

xy-loi'dine 

yer'nut 

zaf'fer 

zem'in-dar 

zin-kif'er-ous 

zin'kite 

zo'e-trope 

zo-ol'o-gy 


B 

FRENCH   DIVISION  OF  WORDS 

A.  According  to  G.  Daupeley-Gouverneur  ("Le  Com- 
positeur  et  le  Correcteur  Typographes,"  Paris,  1880), 
there  are  two  schools,  one  favoring  division  according 
to  etymology,  the  other  according  to  French  spelling. 
The  latter  to  be  preferred.  (Hence  ins-  traction,  and  not 
in-  struction,  since  in  oral  spelling  in  the  schools  it  is 
always,  for  example,  m,  a,  ma,  n,  u,  s,  nus,  manus, 
c,  r,  i,  t,  crit,  manuscrit.) 

B.  No  mute  syllable  to  be  carried  over,  even  of  four 
letters,  unless  under  stress  of  narrow  measure.     (Not 
publi-  ques,  but  pu-  bliques.) 

C.  No  two-letter  syllable  to  be  carried  over  even  if  not 
mute  (par-  mi,  rele-  ve,  confon-  du),  nor  the  pronominal 
article  attached  to  the  verb  as  its  object  (prenez-  la),  nor 
the  demonstrative  adverb  attached  to  pronouns  (ceux-  ci). 

D.  No  two-letter  ending  of  the  line  if  the  letters  are 
thin  (il-  lettre,  li-  mace,  fl-  ligrane),  under  any  circum- 
stances ;    the  measure  may  excuse  two  thick  letters  (en- 
fantine,  pa-  villon). 

E.  No   one-letter  ending  ever  admissible   (i-  mage, 
a-  venir,   e-  mission),  nor  in  combination  with  an  eli- 
sion (1'e--  legance,  1'a-  ve'nement,  d'a-  vance,  d'e-  pargne, 
qu'a-  vant). 

F.  No  division  between  two  vowels  (lou-  ange,  the- 
atre, situ-  ation)  [M.  Claye,  head  of  the  house  for  which 
our  author  was  former  proof-reader,  thinks  this  an  unrea- 
sonable prejudice],  except  in  case  of  compounds  (extra- 
ordinaire, archi-  episcopal,  anti-  orleaniste ;  preferable  to 
extraor-  dinaire,  etc.). 

G.  Divide  compounds,  already  hyphened,  on  the  hy- 
phen by  preference  (morte-  saison,  contre-  expertise,  plus- 
value),  and  compounds  elided  with  apostrophe  after  the 

434 


French  divisions  435 

apostrophe  (grand'-  mere,  a  grand'-  peme),  but  not  omit- 
ting the  hyphen,  as  is  sometimes  done  [see  Marie  Bash- 
kirtseff's  Journal,  Paris,  1888,  grand'  |  maman]. 

H.  Divide  after  a  mute  syllable  in  the  middle  of  a  word 
rather  than  before  (courte-  pointe,  not  cour-  tepointe, 
evene-  ment,  not  eve-  nement). 

I.  Carry  over  euphonic  t  between  hyphens  (ira-  t-il, 
presente-  t-on). 

J.  Never  divide  on  x  or  y  (—  cs  and  ii);  neither  Alex- 
andre  nor  Ale-  xandre,  fix-  er  nor  fi-  xer,  roy-  aliste  nor 
ro-  yaliste. 

K.  Never  carry  over  etc. 

L.  No  more  than  three  successive  lines  ending  with 
a  hyphen  are  tolerable.  An  obsolete  rule  forbade  the 
first  line  of  a  work  ending  in  a  hyphen. 


W.  P.  G's  observations  based  on  Rambaud  (R) :    Hist,  de  la 
Civilisation  Contemp.  en  France,  Paris,  1888. 
Llhomme  (L) :  Les  Femmes  Ecrivains,  Paris,  c.  1892. 
Daudet  (D) :  Tartarin  sur  les  Alpes,  Paris,  1886. 
Bashkirtseff  (B) :  Journal,  Paris,  1888. 
Bacourt  (Bt) :  Souvenirs  d'un  Diplomat,  Paris,  1882. 
Flaubert  (F) :  Correspondance,  iiie  se"rie,  Paris,  1891. 
Taine  (T):  Origines  de  la  France  Contemp.,  Paris,  1887. 
(DG)  refers  to  Daupeley-Gouverneur,  as  above. 

1  In  general,  with  compounds  of  ab-  (abs-)  circon- 
com-  con-  des-  ex-  in-  ob-  per-  pro-  sub-  super-  trans-, 
divide  on  the  preposition.  But  when  a  impur  (a  followed 
by  a  consonant)  succeeds,  generally  divide  on  that,  es- 
pecially in  the  case  of  in-  (compare  DG  [A]). 

R  (both  usages) 

circon-  stance         recon-  stitua  in-  struction 

circons-  tance  cons-  tituer  ins-  traction 

L  (both  usages) 

circon-  stance 

circons-  tance  cons-  truire  pros-  cription 

supers-  titieuses 


436 


French  divisions 


B  (both  usages) 

circon- 
cons- 

Bt  (single  usage) 

circon- 

con- 

con- 

F  (both  usages) 

cons- 

T  (both  usages) 
con- 
cons- 


stance 
cience 


stance  \ 
struction  > 
stitution  j 


obs-  tacles 
[obs-  cures  in  Rooses :  Muse'e 

Plantin-Moretus,  188-] 
in-  stitution 


in-  scription 
tamment        ins-  pire          nonobs-  tant 


struit 
truire 


in-  stant 
ins-  tants 


sub-  stance 
subs-  tituer 
ab-  straite 
per-  spective 


2  Divide  on  vowel  or  diphthong  before  a  single  con- 
sonant, or  before  the  digraphs  bl  cl  fl  gl  pi;  br  cr  dr  gr 
pr  tr  vr;  ch  dli  gh  ph  th;  gn. 


R 


pu-  blique 
de'peu-  pleraent 


souverai-  net6 
OE-  dipe ) 
[DG    DJ    I 
seu-  lenient  } 
[DG    H] 
re-  pugnait; 


D 

1'a- 

vait     -\ 

1'ha- 

bitude  ' 

d'ho- 

tel        f 

[DG 

E]        ) 

B 

au- 

tour} 

ai- 

me'e  J- 

[DG 

D]     ) 

Bt 

[Ja- 

mes 

T 

au- 

rions 

[DG 

D] 

au- 

tre  \ 

[DG 


Dl 

BJ) 


c616-  brer 

rappro-  ch6 

d6-  cret 

ca-  tholique 

d'a-  pres  ) 
[DG    E]     J 

tele"gra-  phique 

p4n^-  trerent 

sei-  gneur 

ou-  vrier  ) 

[DG    D]      \ 

rallie-  rent) 

sollici-  tent  V 

[DG    B]     ) 

s'  a-  vancer   ) 

qua-  drille 

d'  A-  lembert  ]• 

[DG    E] 

fo-  reign 

d'E-  tat     ) 

d'a-  bord  > 

[DG    E]     ) 


quatuo-  riste 

trou-  blesomel 
Vau-  ghan 


French  divisions 


437 


3  Divide  between  two  consonants  (not  constituting 
one  of  the  above  digraphs),  including  liquid  II;  or  between 
a  consonant  and  a  digraph  (or  trigraph).—  No  exception 
in  the  case  of  a  monosyllable  ending  in  mute  e  (contrary 
to  DG  B). — No  consideration  paid  to  effect  on  nasaliza- 
tion (to  the  eye). 


R 

sep-  tembre 

caout-  chouc 

misan-  thrope 

pl^bis-  cite 

Philadel-  phie 

pam-  phlet 

expres-  sement 

sim-  plement 

ecclesias-  ques  ) 
[DG    B]     I 

An-  gleterre 

juil-  let 

res-  pecte 

mem-  bres  > 

Nan-  tes  \ 

bon-  heur 

[DG    B]     \ 

Char-  les  I 

sous-  crire 

mar-  che  f 

FDG    B]  ) 

horn-  me-i 

[DO    BjJ 

L 

ten-  drement 

En-  ghien 

horos-  cope 

sous-  traire 

[ste're'o-  scope  R] 

B 

im-  mense 

Bt 

im-  m&liat 

[bles-  sings 

Fran-  cklin"! 
Die-  kensj 

F 

des-  cription 

manus-  crites 

par-des-  susl 

[DG    G] 

T 

J     bud-  dhiste 

des-  cendent 

famil-  les 

iStend-  hal 

[DG    B] 

comp-  tes2 

1  Middle  syllable's  pronunciation  left  ambiguous. 

2  p  treated  as  non-existent. 


B] 


4  Other  three-  and  four-consonant  combinations  to  be 
divided  according  to  compound,  or  root  and  ending: 


R 

L 

D 

B 

Bt 

F 


func-  tion 


Augs-  burg 


lors-  que 

aujour-  d'hui 

long-  temps  gentils-  hommes 

Jung-  frau 

Oelst-  nitz 

comp-  tant  (perhaps  under  Rule  3  if  p  is  treated  as  non- 
grand'-  chose  existent). 


Vitz-  nau 


January,  1896. 

28 


W.  P.  G. 


c 

ITALIAN   DIVISION  OF  WORDS 

W.  P.  G's  observations  based  on  Barbera  (B) :  Memorie  d'un 
Editore,  Florence,  1883. 

Carducci  (C) :  Rime  di  F.  Petrarca,  Leghorn,  1876. 

Cibrario  (Ci) :  Econ.  Polit.  del  Medio  Evo,  vol.  i.,  Turin,  1861. 

Mario  (M) :  Scritti,  vol.  i.,  Bologna,  1884. 

Stecchetti  (S) :  Postuma  Nova,  Polemica,  Bologna,  1884,  1885. 

Ricci  (R) :  First  Italian  Reading-Book,  New  York  (London 
make?),  1888. 

Giannone  (G) :  Opere  Postume,  vol.  i.,  Italy  (no  place,  prob- 
ably under  the  ban  political  and  ecclesiastical),  1821. 

In  comparison  with  Gesualdo  (Ge),  II  Petrarcha,  Venice,  1553. 

Machiavelli  (Ma),  Discorsi,  Venice,  1554. 

Boccaccio  (Bo),  Decamerone,  Florence,  1573. 

[See  the  corresponding  paragraphs  in  French  Division.] 

C.  Two  letters  may  be  carried  over  even  in  a  two- 
syllable  word,  as,  uo-  mo,  and  C  has  not  only  co-  me  but 
(in  narrow  measure)  co-  m'. 

D.  The  line  may  end  with  two  letters,  even  if  thin,  as, 
li-  bera,  fl-  gliuoli. 

B.  The  best  practice  is  now  doubtless  adverse  to  ab- 
solute one-letter  endings,  which  were  used  ad  libitum  in 
Latin  books  and  in  the  early  Italian  texts,  and  are  not 
infrequent  hi  C  (o-  mai,  a-  vesse,  'n-  chiostro,  [e-  nim]),  and 
of  constant  occurrence  in  Ci  (e-  sempi,  u-  dienze).  This 
has  commonly  no  regard  to  the  exigencies  of  spacing. — 
There  seems  to  be  no  rule  against  one-letter  endings  in 
combination  with  an  elision,  as,  C  (I'o-  zi'ose),  Ci  (d'l- 
talia),  M  (1'a-  more),  Gr  (I'o-  pinione).  The  oldest  works 
cited  are  full  of  instances  of  both  these  usages. 

F.  Division  may  take  place  between  two  vowels,  as, 
C  (pa-  iono). 

G.  Compounds  are  generally  disregarded  in  favor  of 
the  rule  to  divide  on  the  vowel  where  possible.     But  the 
usage  is  mixed  here  as  in  the  Latin.     Thus,  B  (di-  scus- 
sioni,  di-  sposti,   di-  screta;    but  also   tra-  scorsi,   tras- 


Italian  divisions  439 

cura,  tras-  porto);  C  (di-  susata,  [qui-  squis,]  tra-  sporto, 
tra-  slazione) ;  Ci  (tra-  scrivere  and  tras-  curata,  dis-  ono- 
rati,  in-  stituti);  M  (di-  sposti,  di-  sgrazia,  tra-  sformate). 
—  The  usage  with  ti&-  tras-  varies  also  in  the  elder  texts : 
Bo  (tra-  sportarsi),  Ge  (tra-  sfigurato,  tras-  figure).— In 
dissyllabic  prefixes,  care  is  not  always  taken  to  make  the 
division  after  the  preposition,  even  when  there  is  room, 
as,  S  (so-  praindicate,  for  sopra-  indicate). 

J.  The  Latin  division  was  uniformly  on  the  vowel 
preceding  x,  and  is  correctly  followed  hi  C  ([respe- 
xisset]),  M  ([ma-  xirna]).  It  is  regularly  observed  in 
Spanish  and  in  Portuguese,  where  the  sound  of  this 
consonant  has  become  aspirated.  The  Italian  alphabet 
has  no  x. 

L.  Four  successive  hyphens  occur  in  B,  five  in  C,  six 
in  Ci,  five  in  M,  four  and  five  on  one  page  in  S  (P.  N.), 
four  in  G,  six  in  Bo  and  Ge. 

M.  In  such  locutions  as  nell'  arte,  mezz'  ore,  quell' 
Arcadia,  1'  altr'  ieri,  fors'  anco,  the  well-settled  practice 
is  to  carry  over  the  elided  syllable — nel-  1'arte,  1'al-  tr'ieri, 
for-  s'anco.  But  G  varies  between  quel-  1'istesso  and 
quell'a-  zione,  all'o-  recchio,  as  does  the  older  Ge  between 
del-  Tappetito  and  dell'-  arco.  The  latter  is  also  free  to 
end  the  line  with  an  elision  (ch'  |  egli),  as  in  Bo  (co'  |  va- 
lenti,  e'  |  giovani,  tra'  |  quali,  se'.  |  ),  and  even  B  (po' 
|  strano,  se'  |  1'abate,  pe'  |  suo'). 

1  Divide  on  vowel  or  diphthong  before  a  single  con- 
sonant, or  before  any  consonantal  combination  capable 
of  beginning  an  Italian  word,  including  sb,  sd,  and  sf,  or 
before  vr.  (The  division,  in  Latin  words,  before  ct  goes 
back  to  the  days  when  these  letters  were  cast  on  a  single 
type-body.  Compare  no-  cte  in  p.  1  of  Fust  and  Schof- 
fer's  Psalter  of  1457.  The  modern  Portuguese  retains 
this  division:  e>  #.,  produ-ctoras.) 


440 


Italian  divisions 


c 

Ci 


Ma 


sa-  lute 
Au-  stria 


ma-  snade 


de-  gne 
ne-  gli 


e-  sempi          [distri-  ctionem] 
[Malme-  sbury] 


M  Ro-  smiiii          Sofoni-  sba 

[Wa-  shington]        legi-  slativi 


G  [au-  ctoris] 

Bo  A-  braam 


u-  scire 


Ge   terremo-  to 
[dile-  cti] 


giuri-  sdizione 
Pre-  sbiteriano 

sodi-  sfare 


bias-  mo 
(exception) 


do-  vrebbe 
te-  sta 
dispoti-  smo 
di-  screta 

Pa-  squati 
di-  susata 

vo-  stra 
tempe-  ste 
dis-  onorati 

(exception) 

mae-  stro 
so-  vranit& 
di-  sgrazia 
tra-  sformate 

[nu    ptiis] 


dov-  ra  (solitary 
exception) 

pae-  se 
fre-  sea 

tras-  figurd       ) 
tra-  sfigurato  ) 


2  Divide  between  double  consonants;  and  between  a 
consonant  and  a  practicable  initial  consonant  or  combi- 
nation as  above.  (Notice  the  occasional  reluctance  to 
divide  the  k  sound,  -ck,  -cq,  in  sympathy  with  the  Portu- 
guese, as  in  Ja-  cques;  the  varying  usage,  also,  in  Latin 
words,  with  pt  [the  Portuguese  permit  themselves  to 
carry  over  this  combination].) 


pub-  blicar 
viag-  gio 
col-  1'amico 

ciac-  chierare 
[Dun-  cker] 
(exception) 
[Fran-  klin] 

mar-  chigiano 

men-  tre 
novem-  bre 

[Stut-  tgart] 


che'n-  tendendo 


Italian  divisions 


441 


a 
M 


G       [assum-  psit] 

Bo 
Ma 

Ge  Petrarch-  sea 


[Regen-  sburg] 
[avec-  ques] 

[Stan-  sfeldl 

[Wim-  pfen] 

ta-  cque  ) 

na-  cque ) 

(exception) 


tac-  que 
piac-  que 

ac-  que 
ac-  quistare 
nac-  que 

tac-  que 
piac-  que 
nac-  que 
ac-  queta 


tran-  quillo 
sol-  dati 


par-  lamente 
com-  battendo 

[coem-  ptionem  | 
[descrip-  tionem]  > 
[descrip-  turn]  ) 


[volu-  ptas] 
[see-  ptrum] 


[Da-  phne] 

[Ere-  chtheo] 

(exception) 

W.  P.  G. 


June,  1896. 


D 

GERMAN   DIVISION   OF   WORDS 

W.  P.  G's  observations  based  on  Lankenau  and  Oelsnitz  (L) : 
Das  Heutige  Russland,  Leipzig,  1881. 

Baumbach  (B) :  Sommermarchen,  Leipzig,  1885  (Roman  letter). 

Kapp  (K) :  Geschichte  des  Deutschen  Buchhandels,  Leipzig, 
1886,  and  Justus  Erich  Bollmann,  Berlin,  1880. 

Sicherer  (S) :  Die  Genossenschaftsgesetzgebung  in  Deutsch- 
land,  Erlangen,  1872. 

Heppe  (H) :  Geschichte  des  Deutschen  Volksschulwesens,  Gotha, 
1858,  vol.  i. 

Goethe  (G) :  Werke,  Weimar,  1887,  vol.  i,  part  3,  and  Paris, 
1836,  vol.  iii. 

Hartmann  (Ha) :  Die  Nigritier,  Berlin,  1876  (Roman  letter). 

Meyer's  Konversations-Lexikon  (M),  vol.  xi,  Leipzig,  1888. 

[See  the  corresponding  paragraphs  in  French  Division.] 

C.  Two  letters  may  be  carried  over  even  in  a  two- 
syllable  word,  as,  die-  se,  Bluntsch-  li. 

D.  The  line  may  end  with  two  letters,  as,   ei-  nem, 
ih-  nen  (and  numerous  prefixes). 

B.  Single-letter  endings  are  avoided,  if  not  forbidden. 

F.  Division  may  take  place  between  vowels,  as,  the- 
oretisch,  and  in  obedience  to  the  rules  for  compounds  and 
prefixes,  as,  Bade-  ort,  Bau-  aufseher,  Be-  antwor-  tung. 

G.  With  compounds,  division  is  preferably  by  com- 
ponent parts,  as,  Mittel-  alter;   but  Mit-  telalter  or  Mit- 
telal-  ter  is  permissible,  while  Mitte-  lalter  is  not. 

J.  It  is  proper  to  divide  on  a  vowel  before  x,  as,  Ale- 
xander. 

L.  Four  successive  hyphens  occur  in  L,  K,  Ha;  five 
in  M ;  six  in  H ;  and  seven  in  S. 

1  Divide  compounds  by  component  parts  preferably ; 
subdivision,  if  necessary,  should  be  independent  for  each 
part  (see  [Gr]  above),  without  regard  to  Rule  4.  (The 
exception  Din-  stag  below  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
early  practice  of  casting  long  s  and  t  on  one  type-body. 


German  divisions  443 

See  its  operation  in  Rule  4.)     The  same  treatment  is 
applicable  to  compounds  of  classic  origin. 

Bade-  ort  Hoch-  ebene  Auer-  ochs  Konig-  reich  wo- 
nach  ein-  ander  Spra-  chengewirr  (L);  Berges-  abhang 
Schlag-  entzwei  Schweins-  leder  M  tillers-  tochter  Jahres- 
tag  (B);  Voll-  endung  Schreib  art  Eng-  land  Manu- 
skript  Mono-  graphien  Aristo-  kratie  (K)j  Gut-  achten 
Bekanntma- chung  (S);  Sonn- abend  Fried- rich  vier- 
eckig  Heb-  amme  [Din-  stag]  (H) ;  Lohnbe-  dienten  Fels- 
lagen  (G);  Bau-  aufseher  Physio-  gnomien  Properi- 
spomenon  (Ha);  Diet-  rich  Re-  prasentanten  atmo- 
spharisch  kontra-  stierendes  Pro-  gnathie  epi-  scopales 
Mon-  archie  Tri-  klinium  Mikro-  scop  Manganhydr- 
oxyd  Beet-  hoven  (M). 

2  Divide  on  prefixes,  except  in  the  infrequent  case  of 
emp-,  where  the  tendency  if  not  the  rule  is  to  join  p  and 
f,  as,  Em-  pfindung.     (In  the  case  of  trans-  the  a  is  given 
to  the  main  word  if  elision  has  occurred  in  consequence 
of  that  word  beginning  with  s.)     The  prefix  may  be  sub- 
divided, as  Un-  ternehmen. 

Ver-  ehrung  Umher-  irrens  er-  blicken  Be-  antwortung 
Ge-  prage  un-  interessant  (L);  auf-  horen  her-  unter 
gegen-  iiber  Ein-  gang  pro-  phetischen  (B) ;  Mit-  arbeiter 
dar-  iiber  beob-  achteten  Re-  skripte  Kon-  skription 
inter-  essant  [in-  teresse]  Trans-  port  [tran-  scripta]  (K); 
Ex-  kursion  Em-pfahl  inte-  ressant  (irregular)  (G);  Ver- 
unzierungen  (Ha). 

3  Divide  on  suffixes  beginning  with  a  consonant,  as, 
-bar,  -chen,  -fach,  -haft,  -heit,  -keit,  -lich,  -los,  -schaft, 
-zig.     (In  accordance  with  Rule  4  or  5,  but  contrary 
to  the  English  practice,  a  consonant  is  regularly  carried 
over  for  suffixes  beginning  with  a  vowel,  as,  -end,  -ig, 
-isch,  -ung,  as  well  as  endings  of  inflection,  declension, 
comparison,  or  agency.) 


444  German  divisions 

Stadt-  chen  ekel-  haft  Vergangen-  heit  mog-  lich  weib- 
lich  Leiden- schaft  (L);  wander-  bare  Selig- keit  (B); 
viel-  fach  zweck-  los(K);  [Lebhaf-  tigkeit]  (G);  vortreff- 
lich  (Ha). 

4  (Rules  1-3  satisfied),  divide  on  a  vowel  or  diph- 
thong followed  by  a  single  consonant,  including  h  and  x ; 
or  before  bl,  gl,  kl:  br,  dr,  fr,  gr,  kr,  skr,  str,  tr,  thr: 
ch,  ph,  th:  sch:  tsch:  single  type  ck,  st,  sz  (in  Roman 
letter  =  ss,  divided  s-  s),  tz.  Usage  fluctuates  with  pf, 
as,  Ku-  pfer  Schop-  fung  dum-  pfig;  with  dr,  as,  nie- 
drig  nied-  rig;  with  fr,  as,  schief-  rigen;  with  kl,  as, 
dunk-  ler,  and  st,  as,  lus-  tig.  (Here  the  suffix  seems  to 
claim  the  single  consonant.)  Finally,  we  meet  with 
Deut-  schen  instead  of  Deu-  tschen. 

Wie-der  Belusti-  gung  heili-  gen  Ei-  lande  grii-  nen 
Roma-  nen  verbunde-  nen  Eu-  ropa  Wande-  rung  gewe- 
sen  bedeu-  tend  Ale-  xander  De-  klamation  Fe-  bruar 
Pa-  triarchen  Ko-  stroma  ma-  chen  Ste-  phan  ro-  then 
zwi-schen  Berdi-  tschew  Fe-  stung  Preu-  szen  drau-  szen 
(L);  zei-  gend  dei-  nigen  (B);  schrei-  ben  Brie-  fen 
geisti-  gen  sei-  ner  spa-  nische  changie-  ren  Patrio-  tismus 
[qua-  dringentesimo]  Ma-  trizen  unparteyi-  schen  Exi- 
stenz  Maje-  stat  friihe-  sten  Mini-  sterium  (K);  ei-  gene 
ei-  nem  ih-  nen  kontra-  hiren  koo-  perative  steh-  ende 
(irregular)  pu-  blizirt  nie-  driger  Indu-  strie  au-  szerdem 
Gese-  tzes  (S);  mo-  gen  Ta-  ges  vorlaufi-  gen  ge-  hen 
Bib-  liotheken  (irregular)  mii-  szen  (H) ;  na-  her  ru-  hig 
beste-  hen  rii-  cken  gro-  szen  (G) ;  Entste-  hung  Zuzie- 
hungen  blii-  henden  frii-  hesten  wei-  ter  beglei-  tetes  Ni- 
gritier  Katastro-  phen  geogra-  phischer  wilde-  sten  in- 
du-  striosen  Zoroa-  strichen  (Ha) ;  Me-  xiko  eu-  ropaischer 
Samo-  jeden  Bi-  bliothek  Ma-  drid  Kathe-  drale  Ro-  dri- 
guez  Emi-  granten  Je-  frem  Mi-  kroscope  Bea-  trix 
Deme-  trius  Di-  strikt  Lo-  thringen  Mi-  thridatisch  Ku- 
pfer  Pondi-  tscherri  Kau-  tschuk  Pe-  tschenegen  (M). 


German  divisions  445 

5  Divide  between  double  consonants;  between  two 
consonants  other  than  the  digraphs  and  trigraphs  enu- 
merated in  Rule  4;  or  between  a  consonant  or  conso- 
nantal combination  and  any  combination  capable  of 
beginning  a  German  word.  But  note  the  exceptions 
indicated  under  Rule  4. 

Quel-  len  bren-  nen  fes-  selnd  Wet-  ters  dunk-  ler 
(irregular)  nied-  rig  (irregular)  unschul-  dig  gegen-  den 
Verbin-  dung  Drohun-  gen  mil-  den  Sep-  tember  behaup- 
ten  charak-  terisirt  Bos-  porus  Lamais-  mus  mitt-  lerer 
wel-  chem  son-  stige  Kon-  trast  herr-  schende  Deut- 
schen  (irregular?)  Pet-  schora  (irregular)  Kap-  tschak 
(L);  weis-  sen  (Roman  letter)  Gries-  gram  schwan- 
kender  erwach-  senen  leuch-  teten  Adel-  heid  dam- 
pfenden  klat-  schenden  (irregular?)  lus-  tige  (irregular?) 
(B) ;  Renais-  sance  Ok-  tober  Korrek-  toren  Dis-  putiren 
Dis-  ziplin  des-  peratem  (in  disregard  of  classic  prefix) 
Eras-  mus  Fis-  kal  Nachfol-  gerin  Vol-  kern  Sach-  sens 
Exem-  plar  Pamph-  leten  Fiir-  sten  Lempertz-  schen  (K); 
Genos-  senschaft  verflos-  senen  zen-  tral  Bluntsch-  li  (S); 
al-  len  widersin-  nig  brin-  gen  sin-  gen  Schop-  f  ung  letz- 
terer  sach-  sisch  Drechs-  ler  (H) ;  nach-  stens  Em-  pfin- 
dungen  kam-  pfen  Tisch-  chen  Men-  scheu  (G);  mils-  sen 
wis-  sen  beis-  senden  (all  Roman  letter)  Auffas-  sung 
dum-  pfig  schief-  rigen  (irregular?)  Por-  trait  Alexan- 
drien  hoch-  stens  Flach-  ses  deh-  nenden  Vereh-  rung 
Semitis-  mus  Skulp-  turen  agyp-  tisch  (Ha);  Es-  karpe 
Is-  pahan  Geg-  ner  Ma-  gnesia  (irregular,  as  if  follow- 
ing the  Greek  division)  Kep-  ler  Ian-  gern  Lan-  gres 
Zwin-  ger  Mus-  kat  Dam-  pfer  Tiibin-  gen  Weresch- 
tschagin  (M). 

W.  P.  G. 

August,  1898. 


E 

SPANISH   DIVISION  OF   WORDS 

A  single  consonant  between  vowels  begins  a  syllable : 
me-sa,  table.  la-bor,  needle-work. 

The  letters  ch,  rr,  11,  and  n,  are  considered  as  simple 
consonants,  and  follow  the  same  rule : 

mu-cha-cho,  boy.  ni-fio,  child. 

pan-ta-lla,  lamp-shade.  tie-rra,  land. 

Two  separable  consonants  standing  between  vowels  are 
divided : 

puer-ta,  door.  gus-to,  pleasure. 

Exception.— The  letters  b,  c,  ch,  d,  f,  g,  j,  p,  q,  t, 

v,  z,  followed  by  1  or  r,  cannot  be  separated,  unless 
they  unite  compound  words : 

pa-la-bra,  word.  ta-bla,  board. 

si-glo,  century.  po-dra,  he  will  be  able. 

sub-lu-nar,  sub-lunar. 

Three  or  four  consonants,  of  which  s  is  the  second,  divide 
after  the  8 : 

cons-tan-te,  constant.  trans-cri-bir,  to  copy. 

Otherwise  compound  words  are  to  be  resolved  into  their 
elements : 

cor-ta-plu-mas,  penknife.        ea-ri-lar-go,  long-faced. 
pre-po-si-cion,  preposition,      ad-je-ti-vo,  adjective. 

True  diphthongs  and  triphthongs  are  indivisible : 
vie-ne,  lie  comes.  bue-no,  good. 

pre-eiais,  ye  prize.  va-cieis,  ye  may  empty. 

but 

lO-Or,  praise.  le-er,  to  read. 

a-ta-ud,  coffin.  gan-zu-a,  false  key. 

Copied,  by  permission,  from  Knapp's  Grammar  of  the  Modern 
Spanish  Language.  Second  edition,  12mo,  pp.  18,  19.  Boston, 
Ginn  &  Co.,  1900. 

446 


INDEX 


INDEX 


A.    See  Article 

Abbreviations,  early,  34,  35;  in 
sixteenth-century  books  for  un- 
schooled readers,  35;  in  eigh- 
teenth-century descriptive  writ- 
ing, 35;  use  of  small  type  for, 
35,"  36;  in  account-books  and 
epistolary  writing,  36;  tolerated 
in  some  books  after  1800,  36,  37 ; 
in  technical  and  scientific  works, 
37;  in  foot-notes  and  narrow 
columns,  37  (note);  proper  and 
improper  use  of,  37,  38 ;  permis- 
sible, 38  et  seq. ;  use  of  small 
capitals  and  of  lower-case  for, 
39,  41 ;  of  companies  and  titles, 
43-45,  60 ;  supposed  faults  in,  43, 
44;  in  capitals  when  appended 
to  names  in  text,  44 ;  confusing, 
45  (see  also  note) :  conjoined  with 
signs,  45 ;  some  not  found  in  any 
dictionary,  48 ;  manuscript  book 
or  list  of,  48,  60 ;  Latin,  49  (see 
also  note)  -,  of  dialect,  slang,  and 
colloquialisms,  50 ;  troublesome, 
51 ;  indefensible,  52  (see  also 
note) ;  for  states  and  territories, 
53,  54;  of  sizes  of  books,  54:  for 
citations,  55  et  seq. ;  use  of,  in 
catalogues  and  advertisements, 
76,  77;  in  legal  documents,  77 
(see  also  note) ;  dislike  of,  in  text, 
144;  early  use  of  period  with, 
262  (note  2),  290;  undesired,  340 

-able,  words  ending  in,  9,  16  (see 
also  note),  17 

Accents,  use  of,  9,  14 ;  names  with 
many,  10;  on  retention  and 
omission  of,  101,  102;  accurate 
placing  of,  316 

Account-books,  abbreviations  in, 
36 


Adjectives,  treatise  on,  in  -able,  16 
(note) ;  in  -ant,  -ent,  23,  24 ;  com- 
pound, 66  et  seq. ;  capitalizing  of 
certain,  122;  in  book  titles,  127; 
division  of,  135;  use  of  comma 
with,  253-255 

Adverbs,  words  consolidated  as, 
70 ;  ending  in  -ly,  72 ;  use  of 
comma  with,  253,  255,  258,  259, 
262  (note  1) 

Advertisements,  use  of  figures  and 
abbreviations  in,  76,  77;  capital 
letters  used  by  writers  of,  124, 
125 ;  hackneyed  methods  of,  127 ; 
style  of  short,  147  ;  squeezed  the- 
atrical, 182 ;  hanging  indention 
in,  189 ;  typographic  mannerisms 
of,  231 ;  study  of  punctuation  of, 
260 ;  composition  of,  315 

Advertisers,  old  fashion  of  over- 
wide  spacing  favored  by  modern, 
140 

Alford,  Dean,  261  (see  also  note) 

Algebra,  abbreviations  in  treatises 
on,  37  ;  use  of  letters  as  symbols 
in.  42  (note  1) 

Almanacs,  abbreviations  in,  37 

Amateurs,  in  printing,  143  ;  imita- 
tion by,  183  (note)  ;  in  proof -read- 
ing, 318,  319,  320  (see  also  note), 
321 

America,  use  of  ampersand  in  title- 
pages  rare  in,  43 ;  vowel  system 
of  divisions  has  many  adherents 
in,  129;  use  of  motto  indention 
in,  192  ;  single  quotation-marks 
in,  218;  das'h  a  useful  mark  of 
punctuation  in,  270.  See  United 
States 

American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  new  spell- 
ings recommended  by,  18  (note) 


449 


450 


Index 


American  Philological  Association, 
amended  spellings  of,  31  (note) 

Ampersand,  uses  of,  42  (see  also 
note  2),  43 

An.     See  Article 

Anatomy  of  the  Mass,  347 

-ant,  words  ending  in,  9 

Antique,  light-faced,  97,  230,  231, 
235;  lighter  faces  of,  preferred 
for  side-headings,  156,  240;  for 
cut-in  notes,  180 

A  Plea  for  the  Queen's  English, 
261  (note) 

Apocrypha,  abbreviations  for  the 
books  of,  55 

Apostrophe,  use  of,  for  abbrevia- 
tions, 35,  36,  60,  283,  288 ;  in  dia- 
lect, slang,  and  colloquialisms, 
50,  51 ;  in  compounds  of  posses- 
sive case,  69,  70;  employed  for 
quotation-marks,  209,  210,  218, 
220,  283 ;  of  later  date  than  other 
points,  262  (note  2);  various  uses 
of,  283;  in  possessive  case,  284, 
288 ;  indicates  omission  of  letters 
in  dialect,  familiar  dialogue,  and 
poetry,  285,  288 ;  use  of  thin  space 
before,  285, 307 ;  with  abbreviated 
dates,  285 ;  used  to  indicate  plural 
of  letters  and  figures,  285,  286; 
lavishly  used  by  poets  of  bygone 
period,  286 ;  last  syllable  of  past 
participles  shortened  by,  286; 
use  of  period  with,  in  abbrevia- 
tions in  the  possessive,  291,  292 ; 
in  reproductions  of  colloquial 
language,  307 

Appendix,  selection  of  type  for, 
157 ;  extracts,  letters,  and  docu- 
ments in,  162 

Arithmetics,  abbreviations  in,  37 

Art,  little-used  terms  in,  338 

Article,  use  of  indefinite,  13  (see 
also  note  2),  114;  definite,  in  titles 
of  newspapers,  periodicals,  and 
books,  112,  114 

Aspects,  astronomical,  47 

Aspirate,  use  of  a  before  word  be- 
ginning with  strong,  13  (see  also 
note  2) 

Astronomy,  use  of  letters  as  sym- 
bols in,  42  (note  1),  90  (note) 

Auctioneers,  abbreviations  in  cata- 
logues of,  48 

Authorities,  disadvantage  of  ab- 
sence of,  8  ;  avoidance  of  expres- 
sion of  preference  for,  8  (note); 
conflict  of,  9,  330;  full  names 
should  be  given  in  list  of,  41; 
cited  in  foot-notes,  55  et  seq.,  105, 


275  ;  differ  as  to  italic  and  capi- 
tals, 107;  use  of  dash  before 
names  of,  272,  273  ;  consultation 
of,  306,  316 

Authors,  different  methods  of,  7; 
decision  of,  final  in  printing- 
house,  7,  331 ;  difficulty  of  access 
to  dictionaries  preferred  by,  7, 
8  ;  alterations  made  by,  in  proof 
delay  work  and  increase  expense. 
8 ;  laws  to  themselves  in  use 
of  certain  niceties,  9  ;  obscure 
writing  of,  9 ;  should  write  dis- 
tinctly and  note  on  copy  author- 
ity to  be  followed,  9 ;  importance 
of  preparation  of  code  by,  10, 
328;  of  works  on  medicine  or 
therapeutics,  18;  should  spell 
proper  names  uniformly,  25; 
English,  of  authority,  29  (note) ; 
proper  use  of  abbreviations  by, 
38 ;  extracts  from,  in  foreign 
language,  38;  permission  of,  to 
be  secured  in  certain  cases,  50, 
51;  quotations  from  obsolete, 
51 ;  cited  in  foot-notes,  55,  56 ; 
seldom  compound  words  uni- 
formly, 61 ;  rulings  of,  in  com- 
pound words,  61,  62 ;  free  use  of 
italic  by,  in  eighteenth  century, 
94,  95;  style  of,  vulgarized  by 
excessive  use  of  capitals,  125 ; 
dictionary  divisions  sometimes 
rejected  by,  130;  proof-readers 
sometimes  overruled  by,  132, 141 ; 
assistance  of,  in  preventing  bad 
divisions,  138,  139 ;  small  capitals 
for  signatures  of,  150 ;  on  selec- 
tion of  types,  160,  161 ;  irregular 
indention  sometimes  insisted  on 
by,  196,  197  ;  final  revised  proof 
of,  201 ;  terse  phrases  in  famous, 
210,  211 ;  double  emphasizing  by, 
222;  punctuation  by,  241-243; 
often  differ  with  editors  in  re- 

fard  to  use  of  comma,  259; 
rackets  used  to  inclose  explana- 
tions or  comments  by,  277  ;  stan- 
dard editions  of  good,  helpful  in 
learning  punctuation,  293 ;  sys- 
tematic, 299 ;  two  proofs  usually 
sent  to,  301,  302;  should  make 
all  corrections  on  first  proof, 
302;  additional  proofs  to.  302; 
final  proof  of,  303;  fastidious, 
305;  suggestions  to,  306,  320, 
323 ;  use  of  split  infinitive  by, 
307;  services  of  proof-readers 
acknowledged  by,  321  (see  also 
note) ;  right  of,  327,  328 ;  uni- 


Index 


451 


formitv  should  begin  with,  330; 
punctuation  by,  339,  340 :  proof- 
reading by,  342,  343  ;  corrections 
in  lead-pencil  by,  357 ;  sometimes 
overlook  changes  from  singular 
to  plural,  357,  358.  See  Editors 
and  Writers 

Bancroft.  George.  335  (note) 

Barker,  Robert,  348 

Bartolus  de  Saxoferrato,  99 

Baskerville,  John,  143  (note),  268 
(note  1) 

Beadnell,  Heniy,  143 

Bellarmine.  Cardinal,  347 

Besiiiit.  Sir  Walter,  321  (note) 

Bible,  pocket,  42;  figures  specify- 
ing verses  in,  52  (note),  59;  ab- 
breviations for  books  of,  54,  55; 
frequently  cited,  56-58;  para- 
graphing of,  93  :  particular  use 
of  capitals  and  small  capitals  in, 
109,  110  (see  also  note  1),  155 ;  use 
of  lower-case  letters  for  pro- 
nouns specifying  Deity  in,  110; 
nicknames  in,  119;  indirect  ref- 
erences to,  123  ;  divisions  in  nar- 
row measure  of  pocket  editions 
of.  131,  133;  terse  phrases  in, 
210;  quotation-marks  not  used 
in,  213,  214;  title  of,  not  itali- 
cized nor  quoted,  225 :  the  comma 
in  quotations  from,  256,  257 ;  ex- 
cellent text-book  for  study  of 
close  pointing,  259:  use  of  dash 
in  references  to  passages  in,  273 ; 
verification  of  quotations  from, 
300,  306 ;  errors  in  early  editions 
of,  348,  349,  350;  unauthorized 
printing  of,  forbidden  by  Parlia- 
ment. 349 

Bibliographers,  use  of  italic  by, 
99,  102,  103,  225,  226;  style  of 
foot-notes  preferred  by,  103 

Bibliography,  use  of  italic  in  works 
on,  102,  103 

Bigelow,  Marshall  T.,  64,  143,  219, 
228 

Black-letter,  extracts  in,  158  (note) ; 
facsimiles  in,  175 ;  spacing  of, 
206 

Blaokstone,  Sir  William,  56,  57, 
259 

Board  on  Geographic  Names,  lists 
prepared  by,  25  (see  also  note) 

Book  of  Common  Prayer,  impor- 
tant divisions  of,  123" 

Book-printers,  of  France,  231,  232 

Books,  typographical  inconsisten- 
cies of,  7;  accents  reserved  for 


educational,  14;  medieval,  full 
of  clipped  words,  hard  to  read, 
33  (see  also  note) ;  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  34,  35 ;  in  roman  type 
printed  in  sixteenth  century,  35 ; 
abbreviations  in,  36,  37  (see  also 
note),  38  et  seq.;  marks  of  refer- 
ence in,  42  (see  also  note  1);  use  of 
ampersand  in,  42  (see  also  note 
2),  43 ;  abbreviations  of  honorary 
titles  in,  44,  45 ;  exact  rendering 
of  titles  of  old,  49 ;  reprints  of 
old,  51 ;  abbreviations  of  sizes  of, 
54 ;  of  the  Bible,  54,  55 ;  cited  in 
foot-notes,  56  et  seq..  176,  275 ;  use 
of  words  for  numbers  in  text  of, 
76,  77,  79,  80 ;  roman  numerals 
in,  87  et  seq.;  hanging  indention 
preferred  for  catalogues  of,  92 
(note) ;  uses  of  italic  in,  94,  97, 
99,  102-105;  titles  of  cited,  103; 
use  of  capitals  in  titles  of,  111- 
113 ;  capitals  should  not  be  used 
lavishly  in  serious  or  standard. 
125;  rules  governing  capitaliza- 
tion of  titles  of,  127  ;  recent  Eng- 
lish and  French,  127 ;  divisions 
prevent  unequal  spacing  in,  130 ; 
old  fashion  of  over-wide  spacing 
not  tolerated  in,  140  ;  written  for 
convenience  of  readers,  141,  142, 
233;  use  of  catchword  in,  142,  143; 
running  titles  of,  151,  152;  over- 
spaced  letters  a  blemish  in,  152; 
method  of  composin  g  letter  head- 
ings in,  153, 154 :  side-headings  in 
educational,  155,  156;  small  capi- 
tals and  italic  of  value  when  used 
with  discretion  in,  156;  size  of 
page  and  type  of,  determined  by 
publisher,  157 ;  lack  of  uniform- 
ity in  minor  details  damaging  to 
appearance  of,  158 ;  plain  roman 
lower-case  characters  in.  166 ; 
excessively  annotated,  171  (note), 
174  (note) ;  cut-in  notes  in  stan- 
dard, 180 ;  of  solid  composition. 
182 ;  composition  of  text  of,  183. 
184 ;  half -diamond  indention  used 
in  title-pages  of,  189.  190 ;  use  of 
italic  and  of  quotation-marks  for 
titles  of,  225,  226  (see  also  note) : 
types  for  side-headings  in,  240; 
of  authority  on  punctuation,  241 ; 
division  of,  into  chapters,  para- 
graphs, and  sentences,  246,  247; 
study  of  punctuation  of  good, 
260 :  use  of  dash  in  references  to 
passages  in,  273 ;  of  reference  or 
authority,  294,  295,  305;  proof- 


452 


Index 


reading  of.  296  et  seq.;  typo- 
graphic uncouthness  in,331 ;  com- 
position of  ordinary,  336,  337  (see 
also  note) ;  errors  in  early,  346 
et  seq.;  composition  of,  unre- 
munerative,  354,  355;  pieces  of 
metal  in  page  of  ordinary,  356. 
See  Editions 

Booksellers,  abbreviations  in  cata- 
logues of.  48 

Book-work,  treatment  of  names 
in,  155;  uneven  spacing  not  al- 
lowed in  good,  201 

Border,  small  capitals  for  inscrip- 
tions inclosed  in,  155 

Botany,  abbreviations  in  works 
on,  37,  45 ;  use  of  capitals  and 
italic  for  names  in,  106,  107 ;  au- 
thoritative treatises  on,  125 

Braces,  not  regarded  as  marks  of 
punctuation,  287  ;  formerly  used 
to  inclose  triple  lines  of  rime, 
287;  in  law- work,  tables,  and 
job-work,  287 

Brackets,  use  of,  for  interpolations 
in  text,  237,  239,  277,  288 ;  in  legal 
and  ecclesiastical  papers,  278; 
before  turned-over  words  in  poe- 
try, 278;  used  to  prevent  bewil- 
derment by  parentheses  within 
parentheses,  278;  general  rule 
for  use  of  parentheses  and,  279 ; 
used  to  inclose  reprints  of  pas- 
sages considered  spurious  in 
early  manuscripts,  279 ;  meaning 
of  exclamation  and  interrogation 
when  inclosed  in,  281 

Bricks,  clipped  words  pressed  on,  33 

Browning,  Robert,  246,  321  (note) 

Byron,  George  Noel  Gordon,  335 
(note) 

Caesar,  Julius,  227 

Cantos,  numerals  of  roman  small 
capitals  for,  90 

Capelli,  Adriano,  49  (note) 

Capitals,  marking  of,  in  copy,  38; 
misuse  of,  38,  51 ;  abbreviations 
in,  44 ;  arable  figures  on  en  body 
bad  mates  for,  87,  89 ;  roman  nu- 
merals of,  for  chapter  headings, 
90,  91 ;  for  titles  of  magnates,  cen- 
turies, and  dynasties,  91,  92;  ro- 
man numerals  of,  in  foot-notes 
and  indexes,  93 ;  small  capitals 
should  be  proper  intermediate 
between  lower-case  and,  93  ;  for 
Latinized  scientific  names,  106, 
107;  how  indicated  in  manu- 
script, 108 ;  beginning  lines  of 


poetry,  108,  109;  for  proper 
nouns,  109;  for  Deity,  syno- 
nyms, and  pronouns,  109.  110; 
for  week-days,  festivals,  and  his- 
toric days,  111 ;  for  books,  period- 
icals, plays,  and  pictures,  111,112; 
in  long  or  complex  titles,  112; 
for  titles  and  dedications,  112, 
113 ;  should  never  be  compacted 
in  composition,  113 ;  for  names  of 
corporations,  113,  114 ;  for  titles 
of  honor  or  distinction,  114-118  ; 
in  compound  titles,  116,  117  ;  for 
prefixes  and  nicknames,  118  (see 
also  note),  119;  for  geographical 
names  and  qualifiers,  119-122 ;  in- 
consistencies in  use  of,  120 ;  in 
catalogues.  120,  125,  126 ;  French 
method  of  using,  120,  127;  for 
historic,  religious,  political,  and 
poetical  names,  122,  123;  for  ab- 
stract qualities  personified.  123, 
124;  in  quotations,  124;  as  a 
means  of  display,  124-126;  con- 
sistency in  use  of,  125,  126;  in 
serious  or  standard  books,  125; 
en  dash  for  compound  words  in 
line  of,  126;  in  summaries  and 
legends,  126,  127 ;  monotony  of 
text  composed  of  large,  146; 
at  beginning  of  chapters,  147; 
used  with  small  capitals,  148, 150, 
151,  166 ;  of  monotone  or  light- 
faced  antique  for  running  titles, 
151 ;  used  with  small  capitals  for 
side-headings,  subheadings,  and 
letter  headings,  152,  153,  164  et 
seq.,  240;  lozenge  indention  un- 
wisely attempted  with,  192; 
squared  paragraph  of,  194 ;  coin- 

Eosition  and  spacing  of,  203,  204 ; 
»  subheadings,  230 ;  for  legend 
lines,  235 :  systematic  use  of,  335. 
See  Small  capitals 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  259 

Cataloguer,  amusing  error  of,  45 
(note) 

Catalogues,  abbreviations  in,  48, 
76,  77 ;  use  of  figures  and  words 
in,  80 ;  hanging  indention  pre- 
ferred for,  92  (note) ;  of  auction- 
eers, merchants,  and  manufac- 
turers, 120 ;  free  use  of  capitals 
in,  125;  side-headings  in,  155,  156; 
use  of  commas  in,  255 ;  study  of 
punctuation  of,  260;  dash  used 
as  ditto-mark  in,  269 

Catch-lines,  small  capitals  freely 
used  for,  146  ;  space- wasting,  191 -, 
unduly  small,  194 


Index 


453 


Catchword,  use  of,  hi  books,  142, 
143 

Celebrant,  symbol  indicating  words 
intoned  by,  48 

Centre-notes,  in  pocket  editions  of 
Scriptures,  181 

Century,  changes  of  word  forms  in 
nineteenth,  6;  facsimiles  from 
two  books  of  fifteenth,  34,  35; 
abbreviations  in  sixteenth  and  in 
eighteenth,  35;  specification  of, 
in  roman  numerals,  91.  92;  italic 
approved  for  book  texts  in  six- 
teenth, 94 

Century  Dictionary,  an  authority 
in  United  States,  5 ;  spelling  of, 
8  (note) ;  new  spellings  of  chemi- 
cal words  in,  18  (note) ;  preferred 
spellings  of,  28  (note  2),  29  (note), 
31 :  reformed  speDing  in,  31 
(note) ;  use  of  space  before  apos- 
trophe in  certain  cases  in,  50,  51 ; 
abbreviations  approved  by,  57, 
58;  names  and  definitions  of 
component  parts  of  sentences  as 
given  by,  247;  acknowledgment 
by  editors  of,  321  (note) 

Chap-books,  style  of,  142 

Chapters,  roman  numerals  for 
headings  of,  87  et  seq,;  capitals  in 
summaries  of,  126,  127;  small 
capitals  for  first  word  or  words 
of,  146,  147;  beginning  with 
proper  names,  147 ;  summaries 
of,  148,  149;  uniformity  of  head- 
ings of,  157  ;  shoulder-notes  used 
in  law-work  to  define,  181 ;  al- 
lowance of  blank  at  top  of, 
183,  247 ;  half-diamond  indention 
vised  for  endings  of,  189,  190 ;  no 
indention  at  beginning  of,  193 

Characters,  use  of  italic  for  names 
of,  in  plays,  104;  dull  monotony 
of  compact,  148;  French  method 
of  composing  names  of,  in  plays, 
152 ;  three  distinct  series  of,  165 ; 
plain  roman  lower-case,  166;  in- 
clined, 167;  with  long  ascenders 
and  descenders,  169;  irregulari- 
ties of  different,  199,  200.  203, 
204;  projecting,  in  electrotype 
work,  205 ;  eleven,  used  in  punc- 
tuation. 288 

Chemistry,  abbreviations  and  sym- 
bols in  works  on,  37,  45-48 ;  use 
of  letters  and  figures  in,  42  (note 
1);  authoritative  treatises  on, 
125 

Chevillier,  Andre,  33  (note),  348, 349, 
350 


Ciphers,  use  of,  in  expressing 
amounts,  84 

Circulars,  use  of  figures  and  spelled- 
out  words  in,  76,  77_,  80;  capital 
letters  used  by  writers  of,  124, 
125;  hanging  indention  in,  189; 
study  of  punctuation  of,  260 

Citations,  hi  foreign  language,  38; 
abbreviations  hi,  54  etseq.;  use  of 
italic  in,  105;  notes  made  up  of 
short,  179;  appear  to  better  ad- 
vantage in  foot-notes,  275 ;  plac- 
ing of.  in  copy,  341 

Clarendon  Press,  35,  58,  140 

Clarke,  Samuel,  35 

Classics,  spellings  chosen  by  teach- 
ers of,  17;  famous  editions  of, 
110;  divisions  in  narrow  measure 
of  pocket  editions  of,  133 ;  the 
comma  in  quotations  from,  256, 
257 ;  punctuation  of  early  and  late 
editions  of,  292;  knowledge  of, 
in  proof  -reading,  310,  315 

Clause,  definition  of,  by  Century 
Dictionary  and  by  Goold  Brown, 
247,  248  (note) ;  examples  of,  249  ; 
sometimes  defined  by  comma, 
253 ;  use  of  comma  with  limiting, 
256 ;  unwise  use  of  comma  with. 
262 ;  use  of  exclamation-point  at 
end  of  every  exclamatory,  281 , 282 

Cobbett,  William,  38,  216,  260,  270 
(see  also  note) 

Cocker,  W.  J.,  225  (note) 

Code,  importance  of  preparation 
of,  by  author,  10,  328 

Coins,  clipped  words  stamped  on, 
33 

Collation,  method  of,  298,  309,  313 
(note) 

Colloquialisms,  abbreviations  of. 
50;  indefensible,  285;  ordinary, 
307 

Colon,  use  of,  97,  98;  in  letter 
headings,  169 ;  before  quotations, 
216  ;  with  closing  marks  of  quo- 
tation, 217;  old  teaching  as  to 
elocutionary  value  of,  245,  246; 
defines  member  of  sentence,  250, 
252,  253;  in  complex  sentences, 
251-253 ;  of  later  date  than  other 
points,  262  (note  2) ;  proper  func- 
tion of,  266,  267,  288;  quotations 
usually  preceded  by,  267,  268; 
other  uses  of,  267,  268,  290 ;  sen- 
tence rarely  needs  more  than 
one,  268  (see"  also  note  1);  seldom 
used  with  dash,  291 

Colonies,  English,  dictionaries  used 
in.  5 


454 


Index 


Colophons,  abbreviations  used  for 
rendering  of,  49 

Comma,  in  citations,  59;  use  of, 
with  figures  in  expressing 
amounts,  84 ;  after  house  num- 
bers, 8(5  (note)  \  when  used  with 
dash,  205;  employed  for  quota- 
tion-marks, 209,  210,  218,  220; 
use  of,  before  quotations,  216; 
with  closing  quotation-marks, 
217 :  old  teaching  as  to  elocution- 
ary value  of,  245,  246,  260; 
omission  of,  in  direct  sentences, 
248.  253;  use  of,  in  amplified 
sentences,  248,  249,  251 ;  phrases 
denned  by,  250,  253,  288;  used 
with  particles  in  stiff  punctua- 
tion, 250,  251,  253,  256, 288 ;  clauses 
sometimes  separated  by,  253, 
288;  various  uses  of,  253-262;  in 
obsolete  and  modern  punctua- 
tion, 254;  with  limiting  clauses, 
256;  needless  use  of,  257,  258 
(note) ;  in  inverted  and  involved 
construction,  258  (see  also  note) ; 
differences  of  editors  and  au- 
thors with  regard  to,  259:  as 
helper  in  exact  expression,  260 ; 
wide-spread  belief  as  to  frequent 
use  of,  262  (see  also  note  1) ; 
should  be  used  only  as  aid  to 
sense,  262;  early  use  of,  262 
(note  2) ;  no  point  of  intermedi- 
ate importance  between  semi- 
colon and,  263,  264 ;  rarely  used 
with  dash,  271,  291 ;  improperly 
used  instead  of  parenthesis,  276; 
use  of,  with  parenthesis,  291 

Commentary  on  the  Four  Books 
of  Sentences,  34 

Composition,  hindrances  to  accep- 
table, 8  (note) ;  made  difficult 
by  abbreviations,  35 ;  dissimilar 
methods  of  abbreviation  in,  37, 
38 ;  arabic  figures  used  for  whole 
numbers  with  vulgar  fractions 
in  ordinary,  82,  83 ;  on  type-set- 
ting machine,  96 ;  capitals  should 
never  be  compacted  in,  112,  113; 
use  of  capitals  in  displayed,  122; 
division  of  words  prohibited  in 
one  kind  of,  131;  eccentric,  131; 
overrunning  to  avoid  bad  divi- 
sions increases  cost  of,  138, 141 ; 
solid  and  compact,  148,  165  et  seq. , 
182,  201 ;  of  letter  headings,  163 
et  seq. ;  useless  breaks  in  har- 
mony of,  165;  ordinary  book, 
167,  183:  notes  a  hindrance  in, 
171  (see  also  note),  174  (see  also 


note);  straggling  lines  destroy 
effect  of  good,  183 ;  varied  forms 
of,  184;  open,  185,  239;  inden- 
tion in  displayed,  186,  187 ;  made 
more  symmetrical,  187 ;  hanging 
indention  of  leaded  and  un- 
leaded, 188;  half-diamond  inden- 
tion in  displayed,  190;  pleasing 
variation  in,  191;  made  unsym- 
metrical  by  motto  indention, 
192 ;  irregular,  196 ;  even  spacing 
of,  198  et  seq.;  spacing  of  hand, 
200-202:  of  capital  letters  only, 
203,  204 ;  spacing  of  letters  alters 
color  of,  206;  effect  of  quote- 
marks  upon  symmetrical  ar- 
rangement of,  224;  spacing  of 
illustrations  in  text  determined 
by  openness  or  closeness  of,  236 ; 
of  pages  in  two  columns,  239; 
close  punctuation  in  precise.  1144 
(see  also  note) ;  of  poetry  from 
manuscript,  292 ;  one  way  to  pro- 
duce cheap,  295 ;  features  of  cor- 
rect, 299;  different  opinions  as 
to  correct,  330;  of  ordinary 
books,  336,  337 ;  unremunerative, 
354,  355;  revising  of  linotype, 
357.  See  Type-setting 
Compositors,  changes  from  copy 
discouraging  to,  7  ;  difficulty  of, 
in  following  different  diction- 
aries, 7,  8;  English  dictionaries 
out  of  reach  of  American,  8 ;  list 
of  variable  spellings  compiled 
for.  8  (note);  bewildered  by  ob- 
scure writing,  9 ;  need  of  book  of 
reference  by,  9 ;  not  expected  to 
edit  variable  copy,  9,  10,  25  ;  de- 
batable spellings  in  copy  not  to 
be  changed  by,  10  :  duty  of  mak- 
ing plural  sometimes  put  upon, 
11;  correct  spelling  of  words  end- 
ing in  -ible,  -able  a  puzzle  to,  16 ; 
should  follow  copy  or  manuscript 
of  educated  writers,17,42  (note  2), 
43,  44,  50,60,  97,  222,  241,  292,327, 
330,  331  ;  dictionaries  made  in 
England  not  accessible  to,  27 ; 
reformed  spelling  may  be  queried 
by,  31  ;  on  the  correction  of  had 
spelling,  etc.,  by,  32;  abbrevia- 
tions of  early  copyists  not  readily 
followed  by,  35;  proper  use  of 
abbreviations  perplexing  to,  37, 
38 ;  requested  to  amend  illiterate 
or  careless  copy,  44 ;  carelessness 
of,  burlesqued,  52  (note) ;  must 
determine  compound  words.  63, 
64;  remarks  on  use  of  figures, 


Index 


455 


abbreviations,  and  spelled-out 
words  by,  76,  77  ;  copy  set  by 
many,  94 ;  should  receive  instruc- 
tions regarding  italic,  96,  102; 
consistency  in  use  of  capitals  to 
be  maintained  by,  125:  unusual 
divisions  by,  128 ;  dictionary  as 
guide  in  divisions  for,  130 ;  want 
of  system  in  dividing  words  con- 
fusing to,  132;  overrunning  by, 
to  avoid  bad  divisions,  139 ;  books 
on  divisions  of  advantage  to, 
143.  144;  limited  in  choice  of 
book  types,  154;  selection  of 
type  for  parts  of  book  unwisely 
left  to,  157;  divisions  of  book 
set  by  many,  157,  158 ;  type  for 
book  should  be  selected  before 
copy  goes  to,  158 ;  on  the  setting 
of  letter  headings  by,  163  et  seq. ; 
imitation  by  young,  183  (note) ; 
frequent  use  of  paragraph  in- 
dention in  display  by,  191 ;  their 
method  of  producing  lozenge  in- 
dention, 191,  192  ;  how  motto  in- 
dention is  produced  by,  192 ;  even 
spacing  not  easily  secured  by, 
198,  199 ;  on  time  and  on  piece, 
208 ;  use  of  quotation-marks  by, 
215,  217,  225,  226 ;  when  rule  "  fol- 
low copy  "  may  be  put  aside  by, 
238 ;  treatises  on  punctuation  of 
little  help  to,  241;  on  study  of 
punctuation  in  grammar  by,  242 ; 
should  not  change  systematic 
punctuation,  243 ;  correction  of 
bad  punctuation  by,  243,  244,  261, 
262  (see  also  note  1) ;  knowledge 
of  grammar  valuable  as  aid  to 
correct  punctuation  by,  246; 
general  rules  for  use  of,  in  punc- 
tuating, 250,  251 ;  exceptional 
uses  of  comma  to  be  followed  by, 
254,  257;  cannot  alter  construc- 
tion, 259;  most  useful  rules  on 
punctuation  for,  259 ;  other  aids 
to  knowledge  of  punctuation  by, 
260,  293 ;  general  rule  for  use  of 
parentheses  and  brackets  by, 
279 ;  proper  use  of  interrogation 
sometimes  perplexing  to,  280; 
title-pages  composed"  without 
points  by,  290;  on  reprint  and 
on  manuscript,  294 ;  early  train- 
ing of,  valuable  in  proof-reading, 
310;  Moxon  on  qualifications  of, 
326,  339 ;  duty  of,  as  denned  by 
Moxon,  326,  327,  339 ;  should  try 
to  make  style  uniform,  328;  not 
qualified  correctors,  329;  long 


manuscript  set  by  many,  329, 
330;  distinctness  of  manuscript 
desired  by,  335;  amusing  errors 
by,  351-354;  book-work  unre- 
muiierative  to,  354,  355 ;  irre- 
sponsibility of  inexpert,  355.  See 
Printers  and  Type-setters 

Compounding,  divergences  in,  6,  7 ; 
variations  in  British  and  Ameri- 
can methods  of,  6 ;  efforts  of  edi- 
tors and  proof-readers  for  con- 
sistency in,  7 ;  author  final  au- 
thority for,  in  printing-house,  7 ; 
theory  of,  63 

Compounds,  value  of,  62;  writers 
do  not  favor  increase  of,  64;  of 
kindred,  67;  personal,  67,  68; 
civic  and  military,  68 ;  with  self, 
68;  of -like  and  mid-,  69;  of  color, 
69 ;  of  possessive  case,  69,  70 ;  con- 
solidated and  hyphened,  70  et  seq. ; 
figures  and  words  together  in, 
not  sightly,  81 

Conjunctions,  use  of  comma  with, 
258,  259,  262  (note  1) 

Consolidations,  61  et  seq. 

Consonants,  use  of  a  before  words 
beginning  with,  13 ;  syllables  end- 
ing with,  129 ;  words  with  double, 
135 ;  divisions  between,  136 

Constantine,  Robert,  348 

Constituents,  division  of  words 
upon,  129 

Contents,  tables  of,  148,  149;  type 
and  indention  of  summaries  of, 
187,  188 

Continent,  the,  spelling  and  pro- 
nunciation of  classical  names  on, 
17 

Contractions,  proper  and  improper 
use  of,  37 ;  the  apostrophe  in,  283. 
See  Abbreviations 

Copperplate-printers,  style  of,  167 

Copy,  changes  from,  hinder  quick 
performance,  7;  importance  of 
correct,  8;  authority  to  be  fol- 
lowed should  be  noted  on  first 
sheet  of,  9,  31,  32;  compositors 
and  proof-readers  not  expected 
to  edit  variable,  9,  10 ;  imperfect, 
10,  243,  299,  317;  debatable  spell- 
ings in,  10 ;  reformed  spelling  in, 
31 ;  on  the  following  of,  32,  241- 
243,  286,  308,  327,  329,  330,  331; 
remarks  on  preparation  of,  38, 
157,  170  (note),  328,  329,  330,  333 
et  seq.;  of  educated  writers  not 
to  be  altered  without  order,  43, 
44;  illiterate  or  careless,  44; 
compositor  required  to  follow. 


456 


Index 


60;  words  of  variable  spelling 
rare  in  ordinary,  61 ;  figures  in 
manuscript,  76;  how  italic  is 
indicated  in,  94 ;  negligently  and 
carefully  prepared,  107,  327; 
capitalization  of  titles  in,  115; 
manuscript,  138;  exceptional  uses 
of  comma  in,  to  be  followed, 
254,  257;  correction  of  wrongly 

Pointed,  261,  262  (see  also  note 
) ;  views  of  Moxon  on,  326,  338, 
339;  in  ink,  and  on  one  side  of 
leaf,  333 ;  numbering  of  inserted 
leaves  in,  338 ;  should  be  paged 
systematically  from  beginning 
to  end,  341 ;  placing  of  foot-notes 
in,  341 ;  should  not  be  delivered 
to  printer  in  instalments,  341; 
type-written,  341,  342;  suitable 
for  type-setting  machines,  344; 
errors  due  to  following,  351,  352, 
354;  errors  caused  by  bad,  352- 
354.  See  Manuscript 

Copy-holders,  conditions  control- 
ling performance  of,  294;  on 
hurried  auction-catalogue  print- 
ing, 295;  copy  should  be  read 
aloud  by,  298;  overruns  should 
be  read  by,  309;  early  training 
of,  valuable  in  proof-reading, 
310;  method  of  reading  aloud  bv, 
312^14 

Copyists,  practice  of  clipping 
words  began  with,  33  ;  many  ab- 
breviations made  by  medieval, 
49;  mannerisms  of  medieval, 
167 ;  early  Norman,  192 

Corrections,  with  lead-pencil  on 
soft  paper,  297,  298 ;  in  ink,  298 ; 
expense  needlessly  increased  by 
petty,  304 ;  in  electrotype  plates, 
304,  305;  unnecessary,  319,  320 
(see  also  note) ;  should  not  be 
made  without  authority,  330, 
331 

Correctors,  on  hurried  auction- 
catalogue  printing,  295 ;  compos- 
itors not  qualified,  329 ;  copy  ap- 
proved by  qualified,  330;  errors 
not  always  detected  by  scholarly, 
350.  See  Proof-readers 

Cowper.  William,  320 

Crapelet,  Georges- Adrien,  355 

Credits,  roman  and  italic  in,  105; 
small  capitals  for,  150 ;  in  italic 
lower-case,  150 

Cross,  Maltese,  48;  Latin,  48;  St. 
Andrew's,  48 

Cross-reference,  shoulder-notes 
used  for  purposes  of,  181 


Cross-rule,   use  of,   between  text 

and  foot-notes,  177,  178 
Gushing,  J.  Stearns,  340 


Dash,  omission  of,  in  letter  head- 
ings, 169;  should  be  separated 
from  text  letters  by  thin  space, 
205 ;  at  beginning  or  end  of  lines, 
205;  use  of,  before  quotations, 
216 ;  in  explanatory  descriptions 
under  illustrations,  238,  239; 
made  to  serve  as  substitute  for 
correct  point,  243,  269,  270 ;  elo- 
cutionary value  of,  246 ;  phrases 
defined  by,  250 ;  of  later  date  than 
other  points,  262  (note  2) ;  dis- 
tinction more  clearly  made  by 
occasional  use  of,  264  (see  also 
note) ;  various  uses  of,  269-273, 
288;  call  for  abolition  of,  269,  270 
(see  also  note);  grammar  written 
without  use  of,  270;  a  useful 
mark  of  punctuation,  270;  com- 
ma rarely  used  with,  271,  291 ;  in 
legal  pleadings,  272;  after  side- 
headings  and  before  names  of 
authorities,  272,  273 ;  in  refer- 
ences to  passages  in  books,  273 ; 
should  have  thin  space  before 
and  after  it,  273  ;  used  by  French 
printers  as  partial  substitute  for 
quotation-marks,  273 ;  used  in- 
stead of  parenthesis,  274 ;  diffuse 
style  compels  use  of,  276 ;  too  free 
use  of,  340.  See  Em  dash 

Date-lines,  capitals  and  small  capi- 
tals for,  166;  italic  not  advised 
for,  167 ;  indention  of,  196 

Dates,  on  the  use  of  figures  and  of 
words  for,  81,  82;  shoulder-notes 
used  to  specify,  181 ;  in  paren- 
theses, 276;  figures  abbreviated 
with  apostrophe  for,  285 ;  verifi- 
cation of,  294,  306 

Daudet,  Alphonse,  222  (see  also 
note),  223  (see  also  note) 

Decretals,  page  of  the,  173,  174 
(note) 

Dedications,  use  of  roman  numer- 
als in,  89-91;  capitals  preferred 
for,  112,  113;  in  small  capitals, 
151 ;  half -diamond  indention  not 
favored  for,  191 

Degrees.use  of  figures  and  of  words 
to  express,  81 

de  Grimm,  Baron,  348 

Derivatives,  Latin  and  Greek,  13 

de  Worde,  Wynkin,  262  (note  2) 

Dialect,  abbreviations  used  in,  50; 


Index 


457 


should  be  spelled  as  written,  51 ; 
use  of  apostrophe  in,  283,  285 

Dickens,  Charles,  321,  335  (note) 

Dictionaries,  seven  large,  in  daily 
use,  5 ;  disagreement  of,  in  spell- 
ing, 5 ;  words  of  changeable  spell- 
ing in,  relatively  few,  5,  6 ;  pecu- 
liaritiesof  English  and  American, 
6;  changes  in  word  forms  re- 
corded, not  originated,  by,  6; 
changes  sanctioned  by,  encour- 
age other  and  greater  liberties, 
7 ;  difficulty  of  following  all  com- 
poundings  of,  7;  scarcity  of,  in 
printing-houses,  7,  8;  English, 
known  by  name  only  to  many 
American  proof-readers,  8 ;  van- 
able  spellings  compiled  from,  8 
(note);  accents  reserved  for,  14; 
many  names  not  found  in  ordi- 
nary, 25;  made  in  England  not 
accessible  to  American  compo- 
sitors, 27;  complete  and  au- 
thoritative English,  28  (note  1) ; 
preferred  spellings  of,  29,  31 ;  ab- 
breviations in,  37,  45;  some  ab- 
breviations not  found  in,  48 ;  dif- 
fer in  compound  words,  61,  62,  71 ; 
figures  preferred  for  numerical 
statements  in,  85 ;  foreign  words 
and  phrases  adopted  in  English, 
100,  101;  use  of  small  or  lower- 
case letters  not  sanctioned  by, 
120 ;  as  authorities  for  division  of 
words,  130,  134;  side-headings  in, 
155,  156,  159;  hanging  indention 
of,  188 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography, 
321  (note) 

Dictionary  of  the  Art  of  Printing, 
49  (note) 

Dieresis,  use  of,  64,  65,  71 

Digests  of  Justinian,  99 

Digraphs,  use  of,  13 

Diphthongs,  use  of,  13 

Directories,  use  of  arable  figures 
in,  86;  hanging  indention  of, 
188;  study  of  punctuation  of, 
260 ;  omission  of  periods  in,  269 

Display,  use  of  ampersand  in  lead- 
ing line  of,  43;  crooked  or  un- 
balanced line  of,  44,  45;  capitals 
as  a  means  of,  124-126 ;  divisions 
in  lines  of,  131;  small  capitals 
rated  as  superior  to  italic  for, 
145;  relation  of  small  capitals  to, 
146;  useless,  164;  tendency  to- 
ward curtailment  of,  166,  167; 
overbold,  180;  damaged  by  ir- 
regularity of  blanks,  187;  half- 


diamond  indention  in,  190 ;  half- 
diamond  and  lozenge  indentions 
unwisely  neglected  m  open,  191 ; 
white  space  really  needed  to 
relieve  lines  of,  194;  diagonal 
arrangement  of,  195 ;  spacing  of, 
in  title-pages,  201.  See  Spacing 

Ditto-mark,  need  of  new,  289 

Dividing-rules,  use  of,  between 
text  and  foot-notes,  177,  178 

Divisions,  author  final  author- 
ity for,  in  printing-house,  7;  of 
words,  128  et  seq.;  unusual,  128; 
on  emphasized  syllables,  129, 130 ; 
system  of  no,  130;  admitted  as 
unavoidable  by  publishers  and 
printers,  131 ;  in  fines  of  display, 
131;  want  of  system  in,  132;  in 
composition  of  newspapers  and 
job-work,  132 ;  by  pronunciation, 
132-134;  on  short  syllables,  134; 
between  consonants,  136;  on 
vowels,  137 ;  on  prefixes,  137 ;  on 
terminations,  137,  138 ;  bad  spac- 
ing made  by  injudicious,  138; 
rules  of  some  printing-houses 
with  regard  to,  139;  formerly 
prohibited  now  allowed,  140;  of 
the  University  Press,  140,  141 ; 
composition  made  expensive  by, 
141;  on  two  letters  and  on  one 
letter,  143  (see  also  note) ;  books 
written  on,  143,  144;  half -dia- 
mond indention  a  cause  of  bad, 
191;  on  syllables,  198,  199;  first 
function  of  hyphen  to  indicate, 
286 

Documents,  formal,  37 ;  inserted  in 
text  should  be  faithfully  copied, 
43;  reprints  of  old,  51;  spelled- 
out  words  preferred  in  legal  and 
formal,  77  (see  also  note),  78,  79, 
84;  words  used  for  dates  in,  81 ; 
expression  of  amounts  in,  82; 
capitalization  of  titles  in,  115, 
122 ;  method  of  setting  signatures 
to,  151 ;  selection  of  type  for, 
157,  160,  161,  163;  use  of  blank 
line  before  and  after,  183;  quo- 
tation-marks in  legal,  212 ;  punc- 
tuation of  legal  and  other,  292, 
293 

Dramatists,  early  editions  of  Eng- 
lish, 72 

Drew,  Benjamin,  138  (note),  143, 
218,  337  (see  also  note),  353 

Dutch,  prefixes  of  proper  names 
in,  118  (see  also  note),  119 

Dynasties,  roman  numerals  for 
titles  of,  91,  92 


458 


Index 


Editions,  approval  of  dictionaries 
of  English  shown  by  frequent,  5 ; 
pocket,  42,  131, 133,  181 ;  reprints 
should  preserve  indention  of 
first,  197 ;  study  of  punctuation 
in  good,  259 ;  punctuation  of  early 
and  late,  292 ;  errors  in  early,  347 
et  seq.  See  Books 

Editors,  efforts  of,  for  consistency 
in  compound  words,  7;  laws  to 
themselves  in  use  of  certain 
niceties,  9 :  right  of,  to  determine 
spelling,  31:  verbatim  printing 
of  fault-finding  communications 
by,  32 ;  proof-readers  sometimes 
overruled  by,  132 ;  small  capitals 
for  signatures  of,  150 ;  punctua- 
tion by,  242,  292 ;  use  of  comma 
restricted  by,  259 ;  brackets  used 
to  inclose  explanations  or  com- 
ments by,  277,  279;  queries  to, 
308.  See  Authors 

Electrotypes,  spacing  of  projecting 
letters  in,  205;  corrections  in, 
304,  305 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Hungary,  350 

Ellipsis,  proper  method  of  indicat  • 
ing,  205,  217 

Em  dash,  omission  of,  before  cred- 
its, 150, 152,  153 ;  at  beginning  or 
end  of  lines,  205 ;  in  explanatory 
descriptions  under  illustrations, 
238,  239.  See  Dash 

Emphasis,  small  capitals  rated  as 
superior  to  italic  for,  145 

Em  quadrat,  use  of,  with  reference 
figures  in  broad  measure,  92 
(note);  old  fashion  of  spacing 
with,  140,  201 ;  for  spacing  run- 
ning titles,  152 ;  between  columns 
of  foot-notes  in  half  measure, 
178 ;  at  beginning  of  new  para- 
graphs, 183,  193;  when  allowed 
in  spacing,  203 

Encyclopedias,  figures  preferred 
for  numerical  statements  in,  85 

En  dash,  when  to  use,  75;  for  com- 
pound words  in  line  of  capitals, 
126 

England,  dictionaries  daily  used  as 
authorities  in,  5;  spelling  and 
pronunciation  of  classical  names 
in,  17 ;  dictionaries  made  in,  not 
accessible  to  American  composi- 
tors, 27;  use  of  motto  indention 
in,  192.  See  Great  Britain 

English,  seven  large  dictionaries  of, 
in  daily  use,  5;  use  of  accents 
and  diacritical  marks  for  words 
in,  9;  one  of  many  merits  of,  14; 


words  and  phrases  incorporated 
in,  100,  101 ;  writers  of  good.  120 

English  Past  and  Present,  220  (see 
also  note  2) 

English  Typographical  Founders 
and  Founderies,  36,  104  (note  2), 
108  (note) 

Engravings,  pages  with  foot-notes 
and,  171 

En  quadrat,  use  of,  with  reference 
figures  in  narrow  measure,  92 
(note) ;  for  spacing  wide-leaded 
matter,  201;  in  composition  of 
capitals,  203 

-ent,  words  ending  in,  9 

-er,  words  ending  in,  9,  21  (see  also 
notes) 

Erasmus,  Desiderius,  349,  350 

Errata,  early  lists  of,  347,  349,  350 

Errors,  amusing,  45  (note) ;  correc- 
tion and  querying  of,  299,  300, 
307,  308,  318 ;  hurried  or  incon- 
siderate revision  the  commonest 
cause  of,  309;  of  the  press,  333, 
345  et  seq. ;  as  common  formerly 
as  now,  346 ;  attributed  to  malice 
of  the  devil,  348;  in  early  books 
of  authority  and  reference,  348; 
malicious,  348,  349,  350;  of  the 
press  not  confined  to  any  nation, 
349;  due  to  following  copy,  351, 
352 ;  caused  by  bad  writing,  352- 
354;  made  through  meddling 
with  type,  356 ;  by  compositor  in 
correcting,  356;  by  electrotyper 
and  pressman,  356,  357 

Etymology,  knowledge  of,  useful 
in  dividing  words,  i36;  elemen- 
tary principles  of,  144 

Evening  Post,  52  (note) 

Exclamation,  use  of,  in  vocative, 
14;  with  ejaculations  or  inter- 
jections, 15 ;  elocutionary  value 
of,  246 ;  of  later  date  than  other 
points,  262  (note  2) ;  meaning  of, 
when  inclosed  in  parentheses, 
274,  275;  function  of,  281,  288; 
at  end  of  every  exclamatory 
clause  or  phrase,  281,  282,  283; 
short  ejaculations  call  for,  281 ; 
meaning  of,  when  inclosed  in 
brackets,  281;  distinctive  use  of 
interrogation  and  of,  281,  282; 
proper  and  improper  use  of.  283 

Extracts,  in  foreign  language,  38; 
inserted  in  text  should  be  faith- 
fully copied,  43 ;  methods  of  set- 
ting, 107;  selection  of  type  for, 
157,  158  (note),  160,  161,  247;  old 
fashion  of  differentiating,  161, 


Index 


459 


162:  method  of  indenting,  162, 
163.  195,  196,  212;  in  type  but 
little  larger  than  that  of  notes, 
177.  178;  notes  differentiated 
from,  178,  179;  use  of  blank 
line  before  and  after.  183;  quota- 
tion-marks not  needed  for,  when 
in  smaller  type,  214;  forming 
part  of  paragraphs,  214,  215; 
punctuation  ot,  293.  See  Quota- 
tions 

Face,  types  of  different,  158 ;  Elze- 
vir. 159;  Caslon,  159 

Facsimiles,  from  two  books  of 
fifteenth  century,  34,  35;  re- 
duced, 172,  173,  174  (note);  in 
black-letter  or  old  style,  175 

Farther,  further,  use  of,  31 

Fasts  and  Festivals,  95 

Fat-face,  old-fashioned,  240 

Fiction,  proper  names  of,  25-27, 
316 

Field.  Eugene,  334  (note) 

Figures,  neat  arrangement  of,  in 
tables,  37;  superior,  42  (see  also 
note  1),  175,  176,  181;  arable,  52 
(see  also  note),  54,  56  et  seq.;  in 
book  texts,  76 ;  in  catalogues  and 
advertisements,  76,  77;  in  legal 
and  official  documents,  77  (see 
also  note),  78,  79,  85;  should  not 
begin  a  sentence,  79,  80 ;  in  same 
sentence  with  words,  80;  when 
selection  of  arable,  is  unavoid- 
able, 80,  82 ;  degrees  of  heat  and 
specifications  of  gravity  should 
be  expressed  in  arable,  81 ;  rec- 
ords of  votes  made  clearer  by,  81 ; 
use  of,  for  qualifying  numerals, 
81 ;  dates  best  expressed  in  ara- 
bic,  81 ;  for  statements  of  time, 
82;  expression  of  amounts  in, 
82 ;  on  en  and  two-third-em  bod- 
ies, 83, 87 ;  decimal  fractions  most 
intelligibly  stated  in,  84;  not 
pleasing,  but  sometimes  neces- 
sary, in  descriptive  text,  84,  85 ; 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of, 
84,  85;  preferred  for  numerical 
statements  in  compact  works,  85 ; 
for  numerical  names  of  streets 
and  avenues,  85, 86  (see  also  note) ; 
for  regiments  and  corps  of  the 
army,  86,  87 ;  made  to  line  with 
lower-case,  87;  on  en  body  bad 
mates  for  capitals,  87,  89 ;  broad 
and  narrow,  87 ;  table  of  roman 
numerals  and  arable,  88 ;  first 
printers  had  no  arable,  89;  ear- 


liest use  of,  89 ;  imperfections  of 
old-style,  89,  90  (see  also  note) ; 
for  sections,  pages,  paragraphs, 
and  verses,  90 ;  for  date-lines  of 
title-pages,  91 ;  period  used  with, 
by  old  printers,  92  (see  also  note 
1) ;  use  of  parentheses  with  ref- 
erence, 92  (see  also  note  2),  273, 
274,  275;  neripd  not  needed  af- 
ter, at  beginning  of  paragraphs, 
verses,  or  other  subdivisions,  93 ; 
unavoidable  division  of  amounts 
in,  138;  in  date-lines,  167;  up- 
right arabic,  180 ;  in  illustrations 
of  educational  works,  238,  239; 
when  separated  by  commas,  253 ; 
in  parentheses,  276 ;  abbreviated 
with  apostrophe  for  dates,  285 ; 
use  of  apostrophe  to  indicate 
plural  of,  285,  286.  See  Numerals 

Flach,  Martin,  34 

Florio,  John,  197 

Font,  piece-fractions  differ  from 
solid  fractions  of,  83 ;  broad  and 
narrow  figures  in,  87 ;  small  cap- 
itals of  regular,  145;  five  cor- 
related series  in  complete,  145; 
signs  of  reference  in,  375;  spac- 
ing of  letters  changes  appear- 
ance of,  194 

Foot-notes,  abbreviations  in,  37 
(note),  38  et  seq.;  marks  of  refer- 
ence made  for,  42;  authorities 
cited  in,  55  et  seq.,  275;  roman 
numerals  used  for,  93 ;  style  of, 
preferred  by  bibliographers  and 
historians,  103 ;  examples  of,  103 ; 
use  of  roman  and  of  italic  for 
citations  in,  105 ;  in  bold-face  of 
modern  cut,  159;  type  for,  160, 
178;  indention  of,  187;  titles  in 
text  and  in,  226;  placing  of,  in 
copy,  341.  See  Notes 

Formularies,  close  punctuation  in 
legal  and  ecclesiastical,  244  (see 
also  note) 

Fractions,  compounding  of,  65, 66 ; 
used  with  whole  numbers,  80  ;  on 
the  use  of  figures  and  of  words 
for  vulgar  and  decimal,  82,  83; 
on  en  and  em  bodies,  83 ;  figures 
most  intelligible  for  decimal,  84 

France,  book-printers  of,  231,  232 

French,  prefixes  of  proper  names 
in,  118  (see  also  note),  119;  use  of 
capitals  in.  120;  divisions  in  com- 
position of,  144 

Froben,  John,  350 

Froude,  James  Anthony,  226 

Further.    See  Farther 


460 


Index 


Gaguin,  Robert,  347 

Galley,  proof  in,  297,  301,  302 

Garrison,  Francis  Jackson,  336 

Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  336 

Gazetteers,  abbreviations  in,  37,  53, 
54 ;  figures  preferred  for  numer- 
ical statements  in,  85 ;  side-head- 
ings of,  159 

Genesis,  clipped  words  antedate 
writing  of,  33 

Geography,  proper  names  of,  25-27 

Geology,  ordinary  names  in,  106 

Geometry,  use  of  letters  as  sym- 
bols iu,  42  (note  1) 

German,  words  or  phrases  quoted 
from,  98;  prefixes  of  proper 
names  in,  118  (see  also  note),  119; 
divisions  in  composition  of,  144 

Gibbon,  Edward,  58,  226 

Ginn  &  Co.,  Messrs.,  144 

Goold  Brown,  29  (note),  63  (note). 
133  (note),  134,  135  (note),  248 
(note) 

Gothic,  light-faced,  for  subhead 
ings,  230,  231 ;  for  legend  lines, 
235;  for  side-headings,  240 

Gould's  Dictionary  of  Medicine, 
new  spellings  in,  18  (note) 

Grammar,  certain  niceties  belong- 
ing to,  8,  9 ;  theory  of  compound- 
ing in,  63 ;  punctuation  in,  241, 
242,  260 ;  points  justify  rules  of, 
245;  knowledge  of,  valuable  as 
aid  to  proper  punctuation,  246, 
293 

Grammar  of  English  Grammars, 
29  (note),  63  (note),  133  (note), 
134,  135  (note),  248  (note) 

Graphic  arts,  typography  distinct 
branch  of,  167 

Gratiaiius,  174  (note) 

Gray,  Thomas,  334  (note) 

Great  Britain,  dash  a  useful  mark 
of  punctuation  in,  270 

Greek,  spelling  and  pronunciation 
of  classical,  17 ;  words  or  phrases 
quoted  from,  98;  words  com- 
pounded from,  129;  sprinklings 
of,  171  (note) ;  knowledge  of,  in 
proof-reading,  312,  315 

Greek  Lexicon,  348 

Greeley,  Horace,  335 

Guide-books,  abbreviations  in,  53, 
54 ;  figures  preferred  for  numeri- 
cal statements  in,  85 

Gutenberg,  John,  346 

Hall,  Fitzedward,  16  (note) 
Handbills,  omission  of  points  in 
display  lines  of,  289,  290 


Hansard,  Thomas  Curson,  95 

Hart,  Francis,  288 

Hart,  Horace,  35,  140 

Hiley,  Richard,  248  (note) 

Historians,  style  of  foot-notes  pre- 
ferred by,  103 

History,  proper  names  of,  25-27, 
316 

Holland,  Josiah  Gilbert,  335 

Homer,  56,  57 

Hood,  Thomas,  334  (note) 

Horace,  56,  57 

Hume,  David,  59 

Hymn-books,  figures  specifying 
verses  in,  52  (note),  59,  93 ;  versi- 
fication of,  93;  capitalization  of 
certain  pronouns  in,  110;  special 
use  of  capitals  and  small  capi- 
tals in,  155 

Hyphen,  use  of,  in  forming  com- 
pound words,  6,  61  et  seq.,  286; 
in  compounded  fractions,  83 ;  in 
qualifying  phrases,  102 ;  en  dash 
instead  of,  in  line  of  capitals, 
126 ;  use  of,  as  help  to  correct 
pronunciation,  130;  words  di- 
vided without,  131;  use  of  thin 
space  on  each  side  of,  208 ;  errone- 
ous omission  of,  244  (see  also 
note) ;  first  function  of,  286 ; 
repetition  of,  as  leader  line  in 
tables,  286,  287 

-ible.  words  ending  in,  9,  16,  17 

-id,  -ide,  words  ending  with,  18 

Iliad,  not  italicized  nor  quoted,  225 

Illuminators,  revival  of  manner- 
isms of  medieval,  208  (note) 

Illustrations,  spacing  of,  206,  233 
et  seq.;  legends  under,  234  et  seq.; 
in  educational  works,  238,  239 

Imperial  Dictionary,  an  authority 
in  England  and  colonies,  5; 
known  only  by  name  to  many 
American  proof-readers,  8;  dif- 
ferences of  spelling  in,  28  (see 
also  note,  1),  29  (note),  31 

Imprint,  approved  form  of,  43 ;  use 
of  colon  in,  267.  268,  290;  refusal 
of,  by  printer,  331 

Improved  Grammar,  134 

-in,  words  ending  with,  18 

Indention,  hanging,  preferred  for 
catalogues,  92  (note) ;  different 
forms  of,  158, 184-186;  for  inserts. 
162, 163;  hanging,  for  letter  head- 
ings, 165-167,  169;  diagonal.  166, 
170;  wide,  169;  of  signatures.  Kill, 
170 ;  of  notes,  176,  177 ;  of  quoted 
and  unquoted  paragraphs,  185; 


Index 


461 


object  of,  185, 186;  proper  adjust- 
ment of,  186 ;  when  it  is  unneces- 
sary, 186;  paragraph,  186,  187; 
description  and  uses  of  hanging, 
187-189;  half -diamond,  189-191; 
lozenge,  191, 192 ;  motto,  192 ;  sys- 
tem of  no,  193;  squared,  193, 194: 
diagonal,  195;  irregular,  195-197; 
regularity  of ,  in  poetry  disturbed 
by  quotation-marks,  224 ;  how  to 
produce  uniform,  in  poetry,  224 ; 
of  explanatory  descriptions  un- 
der illustrations,  237,  238 

Index,  full  names  should  be  given 
in,  41 ;  roman  numerals  used  to 
specify  volumes,  parts,  and  chap- 
ters in,  93  ;  selection  of  type  for, 
157 ;  hanging  indention  of,  188 ; 
omission  of  period  at  end  of  para- 
graphs of,  269 

-ine,  words  ending  with,  18 

Inferno,  not  italicized  nor  quoted, 
225 

Infinitive,  split,  306,  307 

Initials,  use  of,  for  baptismal 
names,  40, 41 ;  medieval  and  mod- 
ern methods  of  using,  146 ;  re- 
marks upon  and  examples  of  use 
of.  147,  148,  163;  adjustment  of 
large,  in  pages  composed  in  two 
columns,  239 

Inscriptions,  use  of  roman  numer- 
als in,  89,  90;  small  capitals  for 
reproduction  of,  155 

Inserts,  type  for,  160,  161,  175; 
when  quotation-marks  are  not 
needed  for,  161 ;  use  of  blank 
line  before  and  after,  183;  in 
copy,  338 

Institutes  of  Justinian,  347 

Interjections,  use  of  exclamation- 
point  with,  14,  15,  281-283 

Interrogation,  elocutionary  value 
of.  246 ;  early  use  of,  262  (note 
2) ;  meaning  of,  when  inclosed  in 
parentheses,  274,  275;  function 
of,  279,  288 ;  when  to  use  and  when 
to  omit,  279,  280 ;  proper  use  of, 
sometimes  perplexing  to  com- 
positors, 280 ;  should  follow  each 
separate  question,  280 ;  meaning 
of,  when  inclosed  in  brackets. 
281 ;  distinctive  use  of  exclama- 
tion and  of,  281,  282 

Introductions,  numerals  in  roman 
lower-case  for  paging  of,  90,  91, 
93 

Inventories,  use  of  figures  in,  80 

-ise.  words  ending  in,  9,  29 

Italian,  prefixes  of  proper  names 

30 


in,  118  (see  also  note),  119;  divi- 
sions in  composition  of,  144 
Italic,  marking  of,  in  copy,  38; 
misuse  of,  38,  41,  51;  supposed 
faults  in  use  of,  43,  44;  how  in- 
dicated in  cony,  94;  approved 
for  book  texts  in  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, 94;  various  uses  of,  94,  97, 
107;  artificial  method  of  using. 
95 ;  for  emphasis,  96 ;  mismated 
with  roman,  96 ;  use  of,  curtailed 
by  type-setting  machines,  96,  97 ; 
rare  in  reading- matter  of  daily 
newspapers,  97 ;  disadvantage 
of,  97;  for  foreign  words  and 
phrases,  97,  99-102,  105,  222;  ex- 
amples showing  nse  of,  97,  98; 
too  free  use  nullifies  value  of,  98, 
104  (see  also  note  2) ;  for  bits  of 
verse  in  roman  text,  99;  in 
works  on  bibliography,  102,  103 ; 
in  foot-notes,  103;  for  names  of 
magazines  and  newspapers,  103 
(see  also  note),  104  (see  also  note 
1) ;  for  names  of  vessels,  104 ; 
proper  use  of,  104, 105 ;  for  Latin- 
ized scientific  names,  106,  107; 
contrast  between  roman  and, 
107 ;  special  use  of,  126  (note) ; 
small  capitals  rated  as  superior 
to,  for  emphasis  or  display,  145 ; 
credits  set  in,  150;  letter  head- 
ings in,  154,  155 ;  for  signatures, 
155 ;  too  free  use  of,  156 ;  of  value 
when  used  with  discretion,  156; 
lower-case  of,  in  letter  headings, 
164  et  seq. ;  letters  set  in,  169 : 
for  signatures,  169, 170 ;  not  good 
for  side-notes,  180 ;  objectionable 
for  cut-in  notes,  180,  181 ;  rarely 
used  with  quotation-marks,  222 ; 
for  titles  of  books,  periodicals, 
plays,  and  operas,  225-227;  low- 
er-case of,  for  subheadings,  231 
(see  also  note) ;  for  legend  lines, 
236 ;  for  side-headings,  240 ;  punc- 
tuation-marks of,  276  (see  also 
note) 

Italy,  early  printers  of,  109 
-ize,  words  ending  in,  9,  29,  30 

Jenson,  Nicolas,  175  (note) 
Job-printers,  variety  of  types  at 
disposal  of,  154;  ornamental 
styles  abandoned  by,  167;  im- 
proper use  of  exclamation-point 
by,  283 ;  omission  of  points  in  dis- 
play lines  by,  289,  290.  See  Book 
printers,  Compositors,  Printers, 
and  Type-setters 


462 


Index 


Job-work,  indefensible  abbrevia- 
tions in,  52;  abbreviations  for 
states  and  territories  in,  53,  54; 
capitals  used  freely  in,  124,  125; 
division  of  words  in  composition 
of,  132 ;  method  of  composing 
letter  headings  and  signatures 
in,  153;  composition  of,  315;  ex- 
pert compositors  on,  354.  See 
Jiook-work 

Johnson,  Samuel,  259,  316  (note), 
328 

Johnson's  Dictionary,  316  (note), 
328 

Journals,  special  use  of  capitals 
and  small  capitals  by,  155 

Kelmscott  Press,  113  (note  2) 
Kelmscott  school  of  typography, 

disciples  of,  236 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  50 
Knapp,  William  Ireland,  144 

Language,  seven  large  dictionaries 
of  English,  5 ;  names  differently 
rendered  in  foreign,  9,  25 ;  plurals 
of  nouns  derived  from  foreign, 
11,  12;  one  of  many  merits  of 
English,  14;  extracts  in  foreign, 
38 ;  italic  for  words  and  phrases 
in  foreign,  97 ;  words  and  phrases 
incorporated  in  English,  100, 101 ; 
divisions  condemned  as  needless 
manglings  of,  134;  words  de- 
rived from  foreign,  142;  verbal 
coins  in  English,  210;  old  typo- 
graphic methods  of  dealing  with, 
229;  different  constructions  of, 
250;  reproductions  of  colloquial, 
307 

Latin,  capitalization  of  interjec- 
tion O  in,  110  (see  also  note  2) ; 
words  compounded  from,  129; 
knowledge  of,  in  proof-reading, 
312,  315 

Laws,  close  punctuation  in  compo- 
sition of,  244  (see  also  note) 

Leading,  utility  of  wide,  148; 
uniformity  of,  149;  dedications 
should  have  wide,  151 ;  of  text 
and  notes,  174,  175;  importance 
of  even,  186 ;  disagreeable  effect 
of  uneven,  194.  See  Spacing 

Leads,  need  of,  between  lines  of 
figures,  90  (note) ;  between  lines 
of  capitals,  1 13  (see  also  notes) ; 
for  text  and  notes,  174,  175;  in 
composition  of  capitals,  203 

Legends,  use  of  capitals  in,  126, 127; 
spacing  of,  233  et  seq. ;  types  se- 


lected for.  235  et  seq. ;  capitaliza- 
tion of  words  in,  235,  236;  ex- 
planatory descriptions  following, 
237,  238;  superfluous  marks  of 
punctuation  in,  238,  239 

Letter-boards,  pages  of  type  on. 
301 

Letters,  selection  and  adjustment 
of  diminutive,  35 ;  use  of  lower- 
case, for  abbreviations,  39 ;  su- 
perior, 42  (see  also  note  1),  51, 
175,  181;  illustrative,  51;  com- 
pound words  in  lines  of  capital. 
75;  arable  figures  made  to  line 
with  lower-case,  87;  figures  on  en 
body  bad  mates  for  capital,  87,  89 ; 
numbers  represented  by,  88  (see 
also  note) ;  disadvantage  of  up- 
right and  inclined,  97 ;  kerned  or 
projecting,  105;  capital,  108  et 
seq. ;  capital  and  lower-case,  in 
catalogues,  120;  ordinary  two- 
line,  used  as  initials,  147,  163; 
chapter  summaries  in  small 
lower-ease,  148,  149;  ascending 
and  descending,  148,  149,  199, 
200;  hair-spacing  of,  151;  over- 
spaced,  152;  new  faces  of  roman, 
152;  lighter  faces  of  title,  156; 
in  books,  157  et  seq.;  text  in 
modern-cut,  159;  roman  and 
italic  lower-case,  in  letter  head- 
ings, 164  et  seq. ;  customary 
methods  of  setting,  167-170 ;  loz- 
enge indention  unwisely  at- 
tempted with  capital,  192; 
squared  paragraph  of  capital, 
194;  composition  in  ordinary 
lower-case,  201 ;  composition  and 
spacing  of  capital,  203,  204; 
spacing  of  quote-marks  and  up- 
right. 204,  205,  216;  projecting, 
in  electrotype  work,  205 ;  spacing 
of,  206,  207  (see  also  note) ;  sub- 
headings in  capital  and  in  small- 
capital,  230;  in  illustrations  of 
educational  works,  238,  239;  for 
side-headings,  240;  use  of  paren- 
theses with  reference,  273,  274, 
275;  apostrophe  indicates  omis- 
sion of,  283,  285 ;  use  of  apostro- 
phe to  denote  plural  of,  285,  286. 
See  Type 

Lexicographers,  disagreement  of. 
in  spelling,  5,  6;  changes  in 
word  forms  not  originated  by,  6 ; 
professional,  7 

Librarians,  medieval  abbreviations 
now  used  mainly  by,  49 

-like,  compounds  of,  69 


Index 


463 


Literature,  niceties  of,  9 ;  names  in, 
25-27  (see  also  note) 

Lithographers,  style  of,  167 

Lockhart,  John  Gibson,  264,  265 

Logic  of  Ockham,  mysterious  state- 
ment in,  33  (note) 

Lower-case,  use  of,  for  abbrevia- 
tions, 39,  41;  honorary  titles  in 
small,  45:  arabic  figures  now 
made  to  line  with,  87;  roman 
numerals  in,  90,  91;  small  capi- 
tals contrasted  with,  91,  93 ;  ro- 
man numerals  of,  for  foot-notes 
and  indexes,  93;  small  capitals 
should  be  higher  and  wider  than, 
93 ;  quoted,  for  names  of  maga- 
zines and  newspapers,  103  (see 
also  note) ;  certain  uses  of,  110, 
111 ;  for  qualifying  words  in  cat- 
alogues, 120;  small  capitals  no 
taller  than  round  letters  of,  345 ; 
monotony  of  text  composed  en- 
tirely of,  146 ;  chapter  summaries 
in  small,  148,  149 ;  credits  set  in 
italic,  150;  letter  headings  in, 
153,  154 ;  letter  salutations  in 
italic,  154,  155;  special  uses  of 
italic  and  roman,  155;  lighter 
faces  of  antique,  156;  in  letter 
headings,  164  et  seq.;  signatures 
in  italic,  169, 170 ;  honorary  titles 
in,  170 ;  italic,  not  good  for  side- 
notes,  180;  cut-in  notes  usually 
set  in  roman,  180;  composition 
in  ordinary,  201 ;  spacing  of,  200, 
207;  italic  and  roman,  for  sub- 
headings, 231,  232;  roman,  for 
legend  lines,  235,  236 ;  italic,  for 
side-headings,  240.  See  Type 

Lovrth.  Robert,  133  (note) 

-ly,  adverbs  ending  in,  72 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington,  246, 
259,  265 

Magazines,  abbreviations  in,  37 
(note),  38  et  seq.;  titles  of  books 
in  text  of,  103 :  use  of  italic  for 
names  of,  103  (see  also  note),  104 
(see  also  note  1) ;  in  small  capi- 
tals, 104;  in  italic,  105;  as  credits, 
105 ;  narrow  columns  of,  164,  165 ; 
study  of  punctuation  of,  260 

Magnates,  roman  numerals  for 
names  of,  91 ;  in  capitals  and 
small  capitals,  155 

Maker-up,  parts  of  book  set  by 
one,  157 ;  adjustment  of  notes 
perplexing  to,  171  (see  also  note), 
174  (see  also  note) ;  difficulties  en- 
countered by,  343 


Making-up,  notes  a  hindrance  in, 
171  (see  also  note),  174  (see  also 
note) ;  difficulties  of,  342,  343 

Mannerisms,  English  and  Ameri- 
can orthographic,  6;  of  writers 
confirmed  by  usage,  6;  must  be 
reproduced  in  reprints,  108  (see 
also  note),  109;  old-style,  158 
(note) ;  of  le_tter-writers,  163  et 
seq.;  of  medieval  copyists,  167, 
208  (note);  of  medieval  illumi- 
nators, 208  (note) ;  typographic, 
231.  See  Style 

Manuals,  capitalization  of  certain 
pronouns  in  devotional,  110 

Manufacturers,  abbreviations  in 
catalogues  of,  48 

Manuscript,  classical  forms  in,  17 ; 
words  in"  -or,  -er  misleading  in  il- 
legibly written,  18;  abbreviations 
readily  made  by  early  writers  of, 
35;  figuresin,  76;  howcapitalsare 
indicated  in,  108 ;  when  pronouns 
referring  to  Deity  are  consis- 
tently capitalized  in,  110;  how 
small  capitals  are  indicated  in, 
345;  superfluous  punctuation  in, 
238 ;  use  of  brackets  to  inclose 
passages  considered  spurious  in 
reprints  of  early,  279;  composi- 
tion of  poetry  from,  292;  com- 
positors engaged  on,  294 ;  incon- 
sistencies of  ordinary,  329;  the 
composition  of  long,  329,  330; 
distinctness  of,  desired  by  com- 
positors, 335;  additions  to,  337, 
338 ;  undesired  abbreviations  in, 
340 ;  should  be  type-written,  341, 
342.  See  Copy 

Manutius,  Aldus,  109  (note),  175 
(note),  262  (note  2) 

Marchand,  Prosper,  171  (note),  172, 
181,  351 

Marks,  use  of  diacritical,  9 ;  names 
with  diacritical,  10 ;  of  reference, 
42;  used  by  proof-readers,  322- 
324 

Marshall,  Thomas,  35 

Mathematics,  abbreviations  in 
works  on,  37,  45,  46;  knowledge 
of,  in  proof-reading,  312 

Measure,  use  of  en  and  em  quad- 
rats depends  on,  92  (note) ;  divi- 
sions in  narrow  and  in  broad, 
131,  134,  135,  138 ;  running  titles 
spaced  to  full  width  of,  152 ;  in- 
serts in  narrow,  162,  163;  notes 
in  broad,  176-179,  187;  notes  in 
half,  177-179,  187;  indentions  in 
narrow,  185;  lozenge  indention 


464 


Index 


unwisely  attempted  in  narrow, 
192 ;  squared  paragraph  of  capital 
letters  in  narrow,  194;  odes  in 
narrow,  197 ;  spacing  in  ordinary, 
narrow,  and  broad,  199 ;  spacing 
of  letters  in  narrow,  206;  tem- 
porary use  of  broad,  for  large 
initials,  239 

Mechanick  Exercises,  104  (note  2), 

113  (note  1),  326  (note),  339  (note) 

Medals,  clipped  words  stamped  on, 

33 

Medicine,  abbreviations  in  works 
on,  45-48 ;  authoritative  treatises 
on,  125 

Member,  definition  of,  by  Century 
Dictionary  and  by  Goold  Brown, 
247,  248  (note) ;  examples  of,  249; 
defined  by  semicolon  or  colon, 
250,  252,  253.  262,  263 ;  examples 
of,  252;  in  involved  construction, 
258 

Menage,  Gilles,  209 
-ment,  words  ending  in,  31 
mid-,  compounds  with,  69 
Milton,  John,  119,  143  (note),  210, 

259 
Mineralogy,  authoritative  treatises 

on,  125 

Minute -mark,  use  of,  in  new  posi- 
tion, as  substitute  for  comma, 
288 

Mirandola,  Picus,  347 
Misprints,  some  forms  of,  346 ;  in 
early  edition   of   Vulgate,  348; 
ludicrous,  351-354 
Modus  Legendi  Abbreviaturas,  34 
Monotone,  use  of,  for  legend  lines, 

235 

Morel,  Guillaume,  209 
Mores,  Edward  Rowe,  36,  104  (note 

2),  108  (note) 

Morris,  William,  113  (note  2) 
Mottos,  quotations  as,  150;  method 
of   indenting,    162,   187,  188;   of 
title-pages,  192 

Moxon,  Joseph,  104  (note  2),  113 
(note  I),  209,  317,  326  (note),  327, 
338,  339 

Munsell,  Joel,  130 
Murray,  James  Augustus  Henry, 

28  (note  1) 
Music,  use  of  letters  as  symbols 

in,  42  (note  1) 
Mythology,  proper  names  of,  25-27 

Names,  geographical  and  histori- 
cal, differently  rendered,  9;  Ar- 
abic and  Oriental,  10;  early 
English,  13 ;  accenting  of  foreign. 


14,  338 ;  spelling  and  pronuncia- 
tion of  classical,  17;  proper,  25- 
27  (see  also  note) ;  Indian.  25 : 
abbreviation  of  baptismal,  40, 41  •, 
pet,  41 ;  use  of  ampersand  in  busi- 
ness, 42  (see  also  note  2) ;  roman 
numerals  in  dynastic,  91,  92;  Lat- 
inized scientific,  106,  107;  of 
Deity,  109,  110;  of  week-days, 
festivals,  and  historic  days,  111 ; 
of  books,  periodicals,  pla'ys,  and 
pictures,  111,  112;  of  newspapers, 
112;  of  corporations,  113,  114; 
titles  preceding  and  following 
proper,  114-118?  prefixes  of  for- 
eign proper,  118  (see  also  note). 
119 ;  use  of  capitals  and  of  lower- 
case for  geographical,  119-122: 
historic,  religious,  and  political. 
122,  123 ;  unavoidable  division  of 
proper,  138;  chapters  beginning 
with  proper,  ]  47;  type  for,  ancl 
arrangement  of,  in  letters,  164  et 
seq. ;  of  component  parts  of  long 
sentence,  247;  use  of  inverted 
comma  in  Scotch,  253;  omission 
of  periods  in  lists  of,  269 ;  verifi- 
cation of,  294. 300,  305,  306 ;  spell- 
ing of  proper,  298,  316 
Nelson,  Robert,  95 
New  English  Dictionary  of  the 
Philological  Society.  See  Ox- 
ford Dictionary 

Newspapers,  communications  of 
delightful  absurdity  sent  to,  32 
(see  also  note) ;  abbreviations  in, 
38  et  seq. ;  the  ampersand  in,  4'2 : 
use  of  words  for  numbers  in,  77- 
79 ;  italic  rare  in  reading-matter 
of  daily,  97;  use  of  italic  for 
names  of,  103  (see  also  note),  104 
(see  also  note  1) ;  in  small  capi- 
tals, 104 ;  in  roman,  105 ;  as  cred- 
its, 105;  capitals  in  names  of. 
112;  titles  following  proper 
names  in,  115;  startling  head- 
lines of,  127 ;  division  of  words 
in  composition  of,  132;  style 
of  short  advertisement  in,  147; 
names  and  addresses  in,  153: 
narrow  columns  of,  165;  exclu- 
sion of  italic  and  small  capitals 
from,  166;  squeezed  theatrical 
advertisements  in,  182 ;  uneven 
spacing  of  slight  importance  in. 
200,  201;  quotation-marks  in. 
212;  study  of  punctuation  of. 
260 

New  Testament,  abbreviations  for 
books  of,  55 ;  in  Greek,  350 


Index 


465 


Nicknames,  41;  prefixes  and,  118 
(see  also  note),  119 

Nodes,  astronomical,  47 

Norwood  Press,  340 

Notes,  abbreviations  in,  38  et  seq. ; 
marks  of  reference  made  for,  42 ; 
i-ut-in,  42;  type  selected  for,  92 
(see  also  note  2),  157;  hindrance 
in  composition  and  making-up, 
171  (see  also  note),  174  (see  also 
note) ;  small  types  preferred  for, 
174,  175,  247;  leading  of,  174,  175; 
signs  of  reference  for,  175,  176 ; 
in  broad  measure,  176-178 ;  in  half 
measure,  177-179;  separated  from 
text  by  hair-line  rule,  177,  178; 
differentiated  from  extracts,  178, 
179;  side-,  179,  180;  cut-in,  180, 
181;  centre-,  181;  shoulder-,  181. 
See  Foot-notes  and  Side-notes 

Notes  on  a  Century  of  Typog- 
raphy, 35 

Nouns,  spelling  of,  in  the  plural, 
11.  12;  ending  in  -or,  18-20;  in 
-er,  21  (see  also  notes  1  and  2) ; 
in  -sion  and  -tion,  22;  irregular 
forms,  22 ;  in  -ance,  -ence,  -ancy, 
-ency,  23,  24;  compound,  67  et 
seq.;  capitals  for  proper,  109  et 
seq. ;  too  free  capitalization  of, 
126;  in  book  titles,  127;  use  of 
comma  with,  253-255;  apostro- 
phe in  possessive  case  of.  283,  284 

Novels,  dialect,  slang,  and  col- 
loquialisms in,  50;  roman  for 
characters  in,  227,  228 

Numbers,  spelled  out,  52,  76  etseq.; 
vulgar  fractions  with  whole,  80; 
letters  used  to  represent,  88  (see 
also  note) ;  in  book  titles,  dedica- 
tions, and  formal  printed  pieces, 
91 

Numerals,  roman,  58;  compound- 
ing of,  65-67;  use  of  words  and 
of  figures  for,  81 ;  on  the  use  of 
roman,  87  et  seq. ;  in  roman  small 
capitals  and  in  lower-case,  90; 
for  magnates,  centuries',  and  dy- 
nasties, 91,  92;  use  of  spelled- 
out  words  instead  of  roman,  91, 
92 ;  in  foot-notes  and  indexes,  93. 
See  Figures 

O,  use  of.  14.  15,  281,  283 
Oekham,  William  of,  33  (note) 
Odyssey,  not  italicized  nor  quoted, 

225 

Oecolampadius,  John,  350 
Oh.  use  of,  14,  15,  283 
Old  English  Letter  Foundries,  163 


Old  style,  text  in,  159;  facsimiles 

in,  175 
Old  Testament,  abbreviations  for 

books  of,  54,  55 
On  English  Adjectives  in  -able,  16 

(note) 
Operas,  use  of  italic  and  of  quota- 

tion-marks for  titles  of,  225.    See 

Plays 

-or,  words  ending  in,  9,  18-20 
Originals,  accurate  copies  of,  51 
Orthography,  British,  8 
-our,  words  ending  in,  28,  29  (see 

also  note) 
Oxford  Dictionary,  an  authority  in 

England  and   colonies,   5;    still 

(1901)  incomplete,  8;  differences 

of  spelling  in,  28  (see  also  note 

I),  29  (see  also  note),  31 

Page,  size  of,  determined  by  pub- 
lisher, 157;  uniformity  of,  159, 
160  ;  workmanship  of,  160  ;  made 
lopsided  by  indention,  162,  163; 
adjustment  of  notes  in,  171  (see 
also  note),  174  (see  also  note); 
types  in  violent  contrast  make 
forbidding,  174;  signs  of  refer- 
ence rated  as  disfigurements  to, 
175;  notes  in  half  measure  give 
neater  appearance  to,  178,  179; 
allowance  of  blank  at  top  of,  for 
new  chapter,  183;  paragraph  in- 
dention should  be  unitorm  on, 
187  ;  proper  spacing  of,  204  ;  when 
dash  causes  gap  in  regular  out- 
line of,  205;  superfluous  marks 
of  punctuation  a  disfigurement 
to,  238,  239;  composed  in  two 
columns,  239  ;  made  up  from  first 
proof,  301  ;  alterations  or  correc- 
tions in,  301,  302;  made  up  from 
author's  revise,  302;  pieces  of 
metal  in  ordinary,  356 

Paintings,  use  of  italic  for  names 
of,  104 

Pamphlets,  use  of  ampersand  in, 


,      ,      ,  , 

following  proper  names  in,  115; 
capital  letters  used  by  writers  of, 
124,  125;  attractive  oddity  for  ad- 
vertising, 152;  method  of  com- 
posing, 153  ;  overbold  display  of, 
180;  typographic  mannerisms  of, 
231  ' 

Paper,   for   proofs,   297,   304;    for 
copy,  331-333 

Paradise  Lost,   unusual  divisions 


466 


Index 


in  preface  of,  143  (note);  not 
quoted  nor  italicized,  225;  Latin- 
ized style  and  involved  sentences 
of,  259;  use  of  colons  in,  268 
(note  1) 

Paragraph-marks,  old,  183 

Paragraphs,  sign  used  to  indicate, 
52  (note) ;  period  not  needed  after 
figures  at  beginning  of,  93 ;  small 
capitals  for  side-headings  of,  146 ; 
summaries  of  chapters  set  in 
long,  148,  149 ;  credits  at  end  of, 
150;  when  quotation-marks  are 
not  needed  at  beginning  of,  161- 
163;  indention  of,  169,  184  et  seq., 
193;  notes  set  as  regular,  176, 
177 ;  em  quadrat  at  beginning  of 
new,  183;  indention  of  quoted 
and  unquoted,  185;  adjustment 
of  breaks  at  ends  of,  186 ;  motto 
indention  used  by  French  print- 
ers for  special,  192 ;  small  blank 
desirable  at  end  of,  202;  quota- 
tion-marks at  beginning  of,  211 ; 
extracts  or  quotations  forming 
part  of,  214,  215 ;  special,  in  small 
type,  239 ;  use  of  white  lines  be- 
tween, 247 

Parentheses,  use  of,  with  reference 
figures,  92  (see  also  note  2) ;  for 
foreign  words  or  phrases,  100; 
italic,  107 ;  when  used  with  clos- 
ing marks  of  quotation,  217, 
218;  in  explanatory  descriptions 
under  illustrations,  238;  for  in- 
terjected words  or  clauses,  239, 
288;  elocutionary  value  of,  246; 
phrases  defined  by,  250;  in  com- 
plex sentences,  251-253 ;  explana- 
tory phrases  not  inclosed  in,  255 ; 
early  use  of,  262  (note) ;  distinc- 
tion more  clearly  made  by  occa- 
sional use  of,  264;  proper  func- 
tion of,  273,  274,  275,  288 ;  other 
uses  of,  273-275;  neglected  in 
punctuation,  274 ;  defects  in 
make  of,  274,  276;  use  of  dash 
instead  of,  274;  meaning  of  in- 
terrogation and  of  exclamation 
when  inclosed  in,  274,  275;  curt 
style  compels  use  of,  276 ;  italic, 
276 ;  use  of,  within  brackets,  278 ; 
general  rule  for  brackets  and, 
279 ;  use  of  comma  and  of  period 
with,  291 

Parkman,  Francis,  226 

Parliament,  unauthorized  printing 
of  Bible  forbidden  by,  349 

Participles,  obsolete  or  little-used 
forms  of  past,  8,  9;  use  of,  to 


form  compounds,  72 ;  in  book  ti- 
tles, 127;  division  of,  135;  last 
syllable  of  past,  shortened  by 
apostrophe,  286 ;  accentuation  of 
final  syllable  of  past.  286 

Particles,  capitalization  of,  in  book 
titles,  127 ;  definition  of,  247,  250 ; 
punctuation  of,  250,  251,  253 

Pens  and  Types,  138  (note),  218 
(note),  337  (note),  353  (note) 

Period,  use  of,  for  abbreviations, 
35, 36,  290 ;  not  used  with  verse  fig- 
ures in  Bibles  or  hymn-books,  52 
(note) ;  in  citations,  59 ;  with  ro- 
man  numerals,  92  (see  also  note 
1) ;  not  needed  after  figures  at 
beginning  of  paragraphs,  verses, 
or  other  subdivisions,  93 ;  use  of, 
with  closing  quotation-marks, 
217 ;  new  use  of  inverted,  219 ;  in 
explanatory  descriptions  under 
illustrations,  238,  239;  old  teach- 
ing as  to  elocutionary  value  of, 
245,  246;  at  end  of  descriptive 
sentence,  250,  262  (note  2),  268, 
288;  early  use  of,  262  (note  2); 
various  uses  of,  268  (note  2) ; 
omitted  in  exposed  positions, 
268,  269 ;  in  favor  for  leader  lines, 
287;  use  of,  with  parenthesis, 
291 ;  before  apostrophe  and  pos- 
sessive s,  291,  292 

Periodicals,  reformed  spelling  in. 
31 ;  abbreviations  of,  60 ;  use  of 
italic  for  certain  names  in,  104  = 
capitals  in  titles  of,  111,  112;  use 
of  italic  and  of  quotation-marks 
for  titles  of,  225,  226.  See  Maga- 
zines 

Petrus,  Gabriel,  347 

Phases,  moon's,  symbols  of,  46 

Philosophical  Grammar,  134 

Phrases,  compounding  of  long,  64 ; 
of  separate  words,  70,  74 ;  for  ti- 
tles of  centuries  and  dynasties. 
92;  use  of  italic  for  foreign,  97. 
99-102,  222;  quoted  from  Greek 
or  German,  98;  incorporated  in 
English  language,  100,  101;  itali- 
cized and  accented.  102,  105 : 
terse,  210,  211 ;  use  of  quote- 
marks  for  criticized,  215 ;  quota- 
tions of  isolated,  216 ;  as  defined 
by  Century  Dictionary  and  by 
Goold  Brown,  247,  248  (note)  -.  de- 
nned by  comma,  dash,  or  paren- 
thesis, 250,  253;  examples  of. 
252 ;  use  of  commas  with  explan- 
atory, 255;  parenthetical,  258; 
exclamation-point  at  end  of  ex- 


Index 


467 


clamatory,  282 ;  verification  of 
foreign,  300;  correct  spelling 
of  foreign,  316 

Pickering;  William,  190,  289,  290 

Pictures,  nse  of  capitals  in  titles 
of.  Ill,  112 

Piece-fractions,  83 

Piece-work,  unremunerative,  354, 
355 

Planets,  symbols  of,  46 

Plantiu,  Christopher,  350 

Plates,  corrections  in  electrotype, 
304,  305,  341 ;  bruised  letters  m, 
356,  357 

Plays,  use  of  italic  for  names  of 
characters  in,  104,  227;  capitals 
in  titles  of,  111,  112;  French 
method  of  composing  names  of 
characters  in,  152;  use  of  italic 
and  of  quotation-marks  for  ti- 
tles of,  225-227 ;  quote-marks  for 
characters  in,  227;  example  of 
roman  for  characters  in,  228 

Plural,  formation  of  foreign  words 
in,  8,  9;  spelling  of  nouns  in,  11, 
12;  division  of  nouns  of  one 
syllable  in,  133;  use  of  apostro- 
phe to  indicate,  285,  286 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  334  (note) 

Poetry,  use  of  grave  accent  in,  14; 
numerals  in  roman  small  capitals 
for  cantos  and  stanzas  of,  90; 
capitals  and  small  capitals  be- 
ginning lines  of.  107,  108;  long 
and  short  quotations  of,  146 ;  in- 
dention of,  196,  197;  spacing  of, 
208;  quote-marks  disturb  regu- 
larity of  indention  in,  224;  use 
of  brackets  before  turned-over 
words  in,  278;  apostrophe  indi- 
cates omission  of  letters  in,  285 ; 
composition  of,  from  manu- 
script, 292 

Poets,  former  use  of  apostrophe 
by,  286 

Points,  marking  of,  in  copy,  38; 
use  of  decimal,  84;  in  legends 
and  explanatory  descriptions, 
238,  239 ;  systematic  use  of,  243, 
244,  335;  dash  made  to  serve  as 
substitute  for  correct,  243,  269, 
270;  governed  by  construction, 
24") :  function  of,  245 ;  have  small 
elocutionary  value,  245,  246; 
made  to  serve  different  pur- 
poses, 246;  in  compound  sen- 
tences, 249;  title-pages  without, 
289,  290;  use  of  double,  291,  292. 
See  Punctuation  and  specific 
names  of  points 


Pollard,  Alfred  William,  99 

Polyglot  Bible,  350 

Pope,  Alexander,  246,  332  (note) 

Posters,  omission  of  points  in  dis- 
play lines  of,  289,  290 

pre-,  use  of,  71 

Preface,  numerals  in  roman  lower- 
case for  paging  of,  90,  93 ;  italic 
sometimes  used  for,  94 ;  selection 
of  type  for,  157 

Prefixes,  69;  when  hyphened  and 
when  consolidated,  71-73;  of 
foreign  proper  names,  118  (see 
also  note),  119;  division  of  words 
on,  137 

Press,  the,  writing  for,  317;  so- 
called  errors  of,  333,  345  et  seq.; 
a  real  error  of,  358  (note) 

Presswork,  patched  plates  a  cause 
of  bad,  304 

Printers,  differing  authorities  on 
spelling  used  by,  5 ;  variations  in 
spelling  and  compounding  of  im- 
portance to,  6,  7;  abbreviations 
made  with  variations  by  differ- 
ent, 49 ;  roman  numerals  used  by 
first,  89,  90;  use  of  period  by 
old,  92  (see  also  note  1) ;  peculiar 
use  of  small  capitals  by  early, 
109;  not  a.greed  as  to  divisions, 
128;  divisions  admitted  as  un- 
avoidable by,  131;  English  and 
American,  141;  early,  142;  nse 
of  the  catchword  by,  142,  143; 
French,  152 ;  special  use  of  capi- 
tals and  small  capitals  by  early, 
155;  selection  of  sizes  of  book 
types  by,  160,  161;  agreed  on 
type  for  notes,  174;  paragraph- 
marks  of  early,  183;  pleasing 
mannerism  of  early,  189,  190; 
motto  indention  largely  used  by 
French,  192;  bad  spacing  a  dis- 
grace to,  198;  spacing  of  quote- 
marks  by  French,  205;  employ- 
ment of  quotation-marks  by 
French  and  English,  209,  210;  use 
of  single  quote-marks  by  British, 
212,  218 ;  quote-marks  more  con- 
venient than  italic  to,  226 ;  punc- 
tuation regarded  as  duty  of,  243 ; 
punctuation  by  early,  262  (note  2) ; 
nse  of  dash  by  French,  as  partial 
substitute  for  quotation-marks, 
273 :  use  of  braces  by,  287 ;  held 
responsible  for  faults  of  typo- 
graphic style,  305,  331;  refusal  of 
imprint  by,  331;  rights  of,  336. 
337  (see  also  note) ;  foolish  boast- 
fulness  of  early,  346.  347 ;  grow- 


468 


Index 


ing  number  of  negligent,  347; 
bad  paper  and  incorrect  texts  of 
early,  349,  350;  errors  not  al- 
ways detected  by  educated,  350. 
See  Book-printers.  Compositors, 
Job-printers,  and  Type-setters 

Printing,  figures  preferred  in  com- 
mercial, 76;  rules  for  dividing 
words  in,  141,  142;  amateurs  in, 
143 ;  need  of  white  space  in,  183 ; 
use  of  brackets  for  turned-over 
words  common  in  old,  278 ;  hur- 
ried auction-catalogue,  295 ;  com- 
mercial, 310,  312;  bad  writing  an 
old  grievance  of,  343,  344 ;  errors 
in  early,  346  et  seq.  See  Typog- 
raphy 

Printing-houses,  decision  of  author 
on  spelling  and  divisions  final 
in,  7 ;  scarcity  of  dictionaries  in, 
7,  8 ;  imperfect  copy  in,  10,  243, 
244,  317;  rule  of,  as  to  spelling, 
10;  indefensible  abbreviations 
damaging  to  reputation  of,  52; 
compound  words  in,  62  (see  also 
note) ;  use  of  period  in  many,  92 ; 
division  of  words  on  constituents 
not  practicable  in,  129;  unusual 
and  improper  divisions  in,  133; 
rules  of  some,  with  regard  to  di- 
visions, 139;  use  of  comma  in, 
259;  proof-reading  in  different, 
294 ;  system  of  proof-reading  fol- 
lowed in,  296  et  seq. ;  technical 
terms  and  methods  of,  310 ;  vary- 
ing requirements  of,  in  proof- 
reading, 315 

Pronouns,  on  use  of  capital  and  of 
lower-case  letters  for,  when  refer- 
ring to  Deity,  110;  in  addresses  or 
salutations  to  dignitaries,  116;  in 
book  titles,  127;  use  of  comma 
with,  258,  259;  apostrophe  not 
used  with  possessive,  284 

Pronunciation,  uniform,  of  classi- 
cal names,  17;  in  compounding 
of  words,  63  (see  also  note) ;  di- 
visions consistent  with,  128 ;  use 
of  hyphens  as  helps  to  correct, 
130 ;  division  of  words  by,  132 
et  seq.;  apostrophe  not  needed  as 
guide  to  correct,  286 

Proof,  changes  from  copy  made  in, 
hinder  quick  performance,  7; 
how  to  minimize  expense  of  al- 
terations in,  10;  correction  by 
compositor  in  advance  of,  always 
a  risk,  10;  negligently  revised, 
11 ;  final  revised,  201 ;  hurried, 
201;  author's,  294,  295,  301,  308; 


taking  of  first,  297,  298;  colla- 
tion of,  298;  re-reading  of  over- 
runs in,  300,  301,  309;  to  go  to 
author,  301,  302;  in  galley  and 
in  page,  301 ;  foundry  or  press, 
302 ;  distinctive  marking  of,  304, 
308 ;  before  correction,  324 ;  after 
correction,  325;  hurried  correc- 
tion of  final,  358 

Proof-readers,  efforts  of,  for  con- 
sistency in  compound  words,  7: 
English  dictionaries  out  of  reach 
of  many  American,  8 ;  list  of  va- 
riable spellings  compiled  for,  8 
(note) ;  bewildered  by  obscure 
writing,  9;  not  expected  to  edit 
variable  copy  without  instruc- 
tion, 10,  25;  debatable  spellings 
queried  by,  10;  suggestions  of 
emendation  to  be  left  to,  10; 
should  follow  educated  writers' 
spelling  of  classical  names,  17; 
use  of  indexed  memorandum- 
book  by,  25;  should  make  manu- 
script book  of  abbreviations,  48 ; 
carelessness  of,  burlesqued,  52 
(note);  rulings  of,  in  compound 
words,  61,  62;  in  italic,  96,  102; 
consistency  in  use  of  capitals  to 
be  maintained  by,  125;  diction- 
ary divisions  sometimes  rejected 
by,  130 ;  differ  in  methods  of 
dividing  words,  132;  sometimes 
overruled  by  author,  editor,  or 
publisher,  132,  141;  marking  of 
uneven  spacing  by,  208 ;  double 
emphasizing  should  be  queried 
by,  222;  when  rule  "folio  w  copy  " 
may  be  put  aside  by,  238 ;  punc- 
tuation by,  242,  243,  260;  condi- 
tions controlling  performance  of, 
294;  system  pursued  by,  on 
books,  296  et  seq. ;  verification  of 
connection  of  old  and  new  matter 
by,  296,  297 ;  copy  should  be  read 
aloud  to,  298 ;  duties  of  first  and 
second,  298,  302,  303;  correction 
and  querying  by,  299,  300,  307, 
308,  318,  331;  should  not  edit,  300, 
308 ;  should  work  in  accord,  303 ; 
what  is  expected  of,  305  et  seq. ; 
suggestions  to  author  by,  306; 
should  have  complete  file  of  all 
work  in  progress,  308;  qualifica- 
tions needed  by,  309  et  seq. ;  on 
daily  newspapers,  315;  position 
of,  not  enviable,  316,  317;  diffi- 
culties of,  318  (see  also  note),  337; 
amateur,  318,  319,  320  (see  also 
note),  321 ;  authors'  acknowledg- 


Index 


469 


ment  of  services  of,  321  (see  also 
note)  -,  marks  or  signs  used  by. 
322-324;  long  manuscript  read 
by  many,  329,  330;  errors  by, 
355,  356.  See  Revisers 

Proof-reading,  difference  in  meth- 
ods and  performance  of,  294 ;  of 
ordinary  news  work,  295;  cost 
of,  295,  296 ;  routine  of,  on  books, 
296  et  seq.;  time  spent  in,  298, 
299 ;  system  of  second,  302,  303 ; 
qualifications  needed  in,  309  et 
seq.  •,  should  not  be  done  me- 
chanically or  perfunctorily,  312; 
on  daily  newspapers,  315;  criti- 
cal, 316;  marks  or  signs  used  in, 
322-324;  by  the  author,  342,  343; 
errors  in,  355,  356 

Prose,  grave  accent  rarely  used  in, 
14 ;  short  quotations  of,  146 

Proverbs,  verification  of,  300 

Publishers,  right  of,  to  determine 
spelling,  31 ;  disapprove  of  small 
type  for  abbreviations,  35,  36 ;  of 
modern  books,  113  (see  also  note 
2) ;  not  agreed  as  to  divisions, 
128;  divisions  admitted  as  un- 
avoidable by,  131 ;  proof-readers 
sometimes  overruled  by,  132 ;  de- 
termine size  of  page  and  type 
of  books,  157;  restrict  books  to 
specified  number  of  pages,  161; 
hanging  and  diagonal  indentions 
preferred  by,  16C,  167 ;  agreed  on 
tvpe  for  notes,  174;  parsimony 
of  early,  349 

Punctuation,  supposed  faults  in, 
43,  44 ;  spacing  affected  by,  204, 
205;  dashes  used  as  marks  of, 
205 ;  before  and  after  quotation- 
marks,  216-218;  books  of  author- 
ity on,  241 ;  in  grammar,  242 ; 
different  systems  of,  242,  260; 
when  to  follow  and  when  to 
change,  243,  244 ;  close  and  open, 
244  (see  also  note),  245,  250,  251 ; 
not  included  in  exact  sciences, 
246;  a  system  of  much  flexibil- 
ity. 246;  knowledge  of  grammar 
valuable  as  aid  to  correct,  246, 
293 ;  purpose  served  by  marks  of, 
247;  depends  on  construction, 
249,  250;  general  rules  for,  250, 
251;  obsolete  rule  of,  254;  mod- 
ern practice  of,  254;  made  diffi- 
cult by  involved  construction, 
258;  most  useful  rules  for,  259; 
of  good  books,  260;  Dean  Al- 
fprd's.  261  (see  also  note)  -,  inven- 
tion of  marks  of.  262  (note  2) ; 


italic  marks  of,  276  (see  also 
note) ;  braces  not  regarded  as 
marks  of,  287 ;  summary  of  char- 
acters used  in,  288 ;  of  early  and 
late  editions  of  English  classics, 
292 ;  of  extracts,  letters,  or  docu- 
ments, 293;  how  to  acquire  work- 
ing knowledge  of,  293 ;  object  of, 
293 ;  knowledge  of,  insufficient  in 
proof-reading,  310 ;  by  the  author, 
339,340 

Quadrats,  use  of,  in  composition 
of  book  texts,  183, 184;  employed 
in  producing  motto  indention, 
192;  spacing  with,  207  (note).  See 
Em  quadrat  and  En  quadrat 

Queries,  as  to  old  and  new  matter, 
296,  297  (see  also  note);  to  au- 
thor, 299,  305-308 ;  to  editor,  308 

Quotation-marks,  use  of,  98-100, 
102,  103,  107,  124,  126  (note),  160, 

209  et  seq.,  222,  288,  340;    when 
needed  and  when  not,  161-163, 

210  et  seq. ;  old  method  of  using, 
161, 162 ;  indention  of  paragraphs 
beginning  with,  185;  spacing  of, 
204,  205,  210,  216,  217 ;  used  before 
1557,  209;    a  century  later,  209; 
as  employed  by  French  and  Eng- 
lish printers,  209,  210;   purpose 
of,  210;    methods  of  using,  211, 
212;  use  of  single,  212,  213,  218- 
221;   omitted  in  Bible,  213,  214; 
not  needed  for  extracts  in  small 
type,  214 ;  should  be  used  only  for 
exact  words  of  writer  or  speaker, 
215;    frequently  used  in    edito- 
rial comment,  215;  punctuation 
before  and  after,    216-218;    use 
of,  within  quotation-marks,  218- 
220;   five  series  of,  219  (see  also 
note  2),  220;  needless  use  of,  220, 

221,  340 ;  rarely  used  with  italic, 
222 ;    French  method  of  using, 

222,  223;    French  form  of,  223; 
regularity  of  indention  in  poetry 
disturbed  by,  224;    for  titles  of 
books,    periodicals,    plays,    and 
operas,  225-227 ;  for  names  of  ves- 
sels, 228,  229;   of  importance  in 
literary  work,  229;    in  complex 
sentences,  251,  252;  of  later  date 
than  other  points,  262  (note  2) ; 
dash  used  by  French  printers  as 
partial  substitute  for,  273 

Quotations,  reproduction  of,  in 
text,  43,  331 :  from  obsolete  au- 
thors, 51 ;  methods  of  setting, 
107;  beginning  with  a  capital, 


470 


Index 


124;  fragmentary,  124;  as  mot- 
tos,  150 ;  spacing  of,  by  French 
printers.  205 ;  use  of  quote-marks 
for,  209  et  seq. ;  quote-marks  not 
needed  for,  when  in  small  type, 
214 ;  forming  part  of  paragraphs, 
214,  215 ;  punctuation  before  and 
after,  216-218;  use  of.  within  quo- 
tations, 218-220;  inverted  com- 
mas mark  beginning  of,  253; 
the  comma  in,  256,  257;  usually 
preceded  by  colon,  267,  268; 
verification  of,  300,  306.  See  Ex- 
tracts 

re-,  use  of,  71 

Readers,  variations  in  spelling  and 
compounding  of  slight  impor- 
tance to  many,  6,  7;  books  printed 
in  sixteenth  century  for  un- 
schooled, 35 ;  reference  figures  of 
slightly  bold  face  helpful  to,  92 
(see  also  note  2) ;  free  use  of  italic 
for  emphasis  an  affront  to  intel- 
ligence of,  96 ;  profuse  italic  irri- 
tating to,  104  (see  also  note  2); 
unnecessary  display  offensive  to, 
126;  books  written  for  conve- 
nience of,  141, 142,  233 ;  not  helped 
by  artificial  arrangement  and 
mixing  of  types,  154;  accustomed 
to  restricted  use  of  italic  and 
small  capitals,  156;  graduation 
of  types  for,  158,  160,  161;  of 
newspapers  and  of  books,  166, 
175;  repelled  by  bad  spacing, 
198;  too  free  use  of  quotation- 
marks  implies  lack  of  knowledge 
by,  210,  211;  italic  makes  titles 
plainer  to,  226 ;  methods  of  mak- 
ing language  clear  to,  229 ;  super- 
fluous marks  of  punctuation  not 
helpful  to,  238,  239 ;  correct  punc- 
tuation makes  sentences  quickly 
intelligible  to,  247 ;  points  should 
be  selected  to  aid,  262 

Reed,  Talbot  Baines,  163 

Reference-marks,  175,  176;  super- 
fluous punctuation  with,  238,  239 

Reporters,  use  of  brackets  to  in- 
close explanations  or  conunents 
by,  277,  279 

Reports,  use  of  figures  in,  80 

Reprints,  old,  51;  faithful,  138; 
old  method  of  using  quotation- 
marks  for,  161,  162;  of  seven- 
teenth-century sonnets,  197 ;  use 
of  brackets  in  literal,  277,  278; 
passages  considered  spurious  in, 
usually  inclosed  in  brackets,  279 ; 


evidences  of  faithfulness  of,  293 ; 
compositors  engaged  on,  294 

Response,  symbol  of,  48 

Revise,  taking  of  first,  300;  au- 
thor's, 302, 308 ;  distinctive  mark- 
ing of,  308 

Revisers,  duty  of,  300,  301 ;  of  lino- 
type composition,  357 

Revising,  of  ordinary  news  work. 
295;  cost  of,  295;  hurried  or  in- 
considerate, 309;  of  copy,  341. 
342;  of  linotype  composition,  357 

Roman,  abbreviations  made  for 
ten-,  eleven-,  and  twelve-point, 
49  (see  also  note) ;  italic  mismated 
with,  96 ;  use  of,  between  quota- 
tion-marks, 98,  102,  103,  107: 
words  and  phrases  preferably 
put  in,  100-102 ;  quoted  for  names 
of  magazines  and  newspapers, 
103  (see  also  note);  in  citations, 
105 ;  for  scientific  names,  106, 
107;  contrast  between  italic  and, 
107;  new  faces  of,  152;  lower- 
case of,  in  letter  headings,  164  et. 
seq. ;  letters  set  in,  169 ;  preferred 
for  side-notes,  180 ;  cut-in  notes 
usually  set  in,  180;  for  .charac- 
ters in  novels  and  plays,  227,  228 ; 
lower-case  of,  for  subheadings, 
231,  232;  capitals  of,  for  legend 
lines,  235:  lower-ease  of,  for 
legend  lines,  235 

Rules,  use  of,  between  text  and 
foot-notes,  177,  178;  under  run- 
ning titles,  178 

Savage,  William,  49  (note) 

Scaliger,  Joseph,  348 

Scarron,  Paul,  349  (note) 

Sehoeffer,  Peter,  346 

Scholars,  differing  authorities  on 
spelling  preferred  by,  5;  avoid- 
ance of  diphthongs  by  classical, 
13  (see  also  note  1) ;  complained 
of  obscurity  of  early  books,  33 : 
use  of  capital  O  as  interjection 
in  Latin  not  approved  bv  best. 
110;  different  methods  of  punc- 
tuation practised  by,  246 

School-books,  cut-in  notes  in,  180 ; 
subheadings  in,  230,  231 

Sciences,  signs  or  symbols  in  text- 
books of,  42  (note  1);  abbrevia- 
tions in  works  on,  45 ;  Latinized 
names  of,  106,  107 ;  capitals 
largely  used  in  nomenclature  of, 
125 ;  punctuation  not  included  in 
exact,  246  ;  little-used  terms  in, 
338 


Index 


471 


Scott,  John.  TJ4 

Scott,  Robert,  35 

Script,  indention  of,  169;  very 
wide  indention  unpleasing  even 
in,  185 ;  spacing  of,  206,  207 

Scriptures,  centre-notes  in  pocket 
editions  of,  181 

Sections,  sign  used  to  indicate,  52 
(note) ;  shoulder-notes  used  in 
law  work  to  define,  181 

self,  compounds  with,  68 

Semicolon,  use  of,  with  closing 
marks  of  quotation,  217;  old 
teaching  as  to  elocutionary  value 
of,  245,  246;  in  compound  sen- 
tences, 249,  250 :  defines  member 
of  sentence,  250,  252,  253 ;  omis- 
sion of,  in  simple  sentences,  251 ; 
use  of,  in  complex  sentences,  251- 
253 ;  in  modern  practice  of  punc- 
tuation, 254;  early  use  of,  262 
(note  2) ;  proper  function  of,  262, 
263,  288 ;  no  point  of  intermediate 
importance  between  comma  and, 
263,  264 ;  cannot  be  perverted  to 
other  use,  266 ;  seldom  used  with 
dash.  291 

Sentences,  in  English,  intelligible 
without  accents,  14 ;  punctuation 
of  complicated  and  of  short,  245 ; 
different  parts  of  complex,  246; 
names  of  component  parts  of 
long.  247,  250;  definition  of,  247, 
250 ;  omission  of  comma  in  direct, 
248,  253 ;  use  of  comma  in  ampli- 
fied, 248,  249;  construction  and 
punctuation  of  compound,  249, 
250;  simple  and  complex  or 
compound,  251-253;  explanatory 
phrases  incorporated  in,  255; 
proper  function  of  semicolon  in, 
262.  263 ;  period  at  end  of  com- 
pleted, 268;  position  of  interro- 
gation and  of  exclamation  in, 
280-283;  faulty  construction  of, 
306 

Serials,  names  of,  in  roman,  105; 
in  italic,  105 

Service-books,  symbol  of  response 
in,  48 ;  symbol  of  versiele  in,  48 

Shakspere.  William,  56-58,  72,  210, 
227,  259 

Shoulder-notes,  use.  position,  and 
style  of,  181 

Si,de-headings,  small  capitals  freely 
used  for,  146 ;  capitals  and  small 
capitals  an  approved  style  for, 
152:  in  dictionaries,  catalogues, 
and  educational  books,  155,  156, 
240;  should  agree  with  types  of 


text,  159;  in  letters,  169;  types 
selected  for,  240;  use  of  dash 
with,  269,  272,  273 

Side-notes,  abbreviations  in,  38  et 
'  seq. ;  italic  unwisely  used  for, 
105;  divisions  in  narrow  mea- 
sures of,  131;  add  to  expense  of 
composition,  179;  type  for,  179- 
181 ;  cut-in  notes  more  trouble- 
some than,  180;  spacing  of  letters 
in,  206 

Signatures,  use  of  ampersand  in, 
42  (see  also  note  2);  abbrevia- 
tions in,  43 ;  italic  for,  105 ;  capi- 
tals and  small  capitals  for,  150, 
151,  153,  154,  166,  169;  indention 
of,  169,  170,  196 

Signs,  use  of,  in  scientific  treatises 
and  text-books,  37,  42  (note  1); 
scientific,  45;  abbreviations  con- 
joined with,  45;  mathematical, 
46;  astronomical,  46,  47;  com- 
mercial, 47;  apothecaries',  47, 
48:  ecclesiastical,  48;  for  para- 
graphs and  sections,  52  (note); 
of  reference,  175,  176;  used  by 
proof-readers,  322-324 
Singular,  changes  from,  to  plural. 

11,  12 

-sion,  nouns  ending  in,  22 
Sixtus  V,  Pope,  348 
Slang,  abbreviations  of,  50 
Small  capitals,  use  of,  for  abbre- 
viations, 39,  41;  abbreviated  ti- 
tles in,  44;  numerals  of  roman, 
90,  91;  for  titles  of  magnates, 
centuries,  and  dynasties,  91,  92; 
contrasted  with  lower-case,  91, 
93 ;  roman  numerals  of,  for  foot- 
notes and  indexes,  93;  should 
be  proper  intermediate  between 
lower-case  and  capitals,  93;  in 
foot-notes,  103;  for  names  of 
newspapers  and  magazines,  104 ; 
at  beginning  of  lines  of  poetry, 
108;  particular  use  of,  in  Bible. 
109,  110  (see  also  note  1) ;  for 
titles  of  honor  or  distinction, 
117;  how  indicated  in  copy,  145; 
rated  as  superior  to  italic  for 
emphasis  or  display,  145 ;  no 
taller  than  round  letters  of  low- 
er-case, 145;  characteristics  of. 
145 ;  uses  of,  145  et  seq. ;  more 
useful  if  taller  and  wider,  146; 
how  to  relieve  density  of,  148: 
used  with  capitals,  148,  150.  151. 
166;  French,  152;  letter  headings 
and  signatures  in,  153-155,  164  et 
seq. :  for  reproduction  of  inscrip- 


472 


Index 


tions  on  tablets,  155;  for  side- 
headings  in  dictionaries,  cata- 
logues, and  educational  books, 
155,  156,  240 ;  rarely  used  for  em- 
phatic words,  156 ;  of  value  when 
used  with  discretion,  156;  sub- 
headings in,  230,  234 ;  for  running 
titles,  234 ;  for  legend  lines,  235 

Smith,  C.  M.,  311  (note) 

Spaces,  disuse  of,  in  abbreviations, 
39,  41;  old  fashion  of  spacing 
with  two  three-to-em,  140;  of 
different  widths  not  possessed  by 
early  printers,  142;  proper  and 
improper  use  of,  198  et  seq. 

Spacing,  over- wide,  75 ;  of  capitals, 
113  (see  also  notes),  203,  204;  divi- 
sion of  words  prevents  unequal, 
130;  injudicious  division  of  words 
a  cause  of  bad,  138,  139;  more 
attention  now  given  to  even,  139, 
140 ;  wide  and  narrow,  143 ;  den- 
sity of  small  capitals  relieved  by 
hair-,  148 ;  of  running  titles,  152 ; 
objectionably  uneven,  184;  im- 
portance of  even,  186;  half-dia- 
mond indention  a  cause  of  bad, 
191 ;  of  capitals  in  squared  para- 
graph of  narrow  measure,  194; 
even,  198  et  seq. ;  of  hand  com- 
position, 200-202;  how  to  secure 
even,  202 ;  of  lean  and  fat  types, 
202;  thin,  203  (note);  affected  by 
punctuation,  204,  205,  210;  of  let- 
ters, 206,  289;  of  black-letter, 
lower-case,  and  script,  206,  207; 
of  poetry,  208;  of  subheadings, 
232  et  sea.  See  Leading 

Spanish,  division  of  words  in,  144 

Spanish  Grammar,  144 

Spelling,  seven  approved  authori- 
ties on,  5;  disagreement  of  dic- 
tionaries, writers,  and  printers 
with  regard  to,  5;  words  of 
changeable,  relatively  few  in  dic- 
tionaries, 5,  6 ;  variations  of  Brit- 
ish and  American,  6;  inconsis- 
tencies of  authors  in,  7;  decision 
of  author  on,  final  in  printing- 
house,  7;  difficulty  of  following 
different  authorities  in,  7,  8 ; 
importance  of  uniformity  in,  8; 
variable,  8  (note) ;  remarks  about 
variable,  8  (note) ;  author  should 
furnish  list  of  words  of  peculiar, 
9;  words  of  variable,  in  copy,  9, 
10,  61 ;  importance  of  proper  code 
of,  10 ;  writers  apparently  indif- 
ferent about,  10 ;  debatable  forms 
of,  10;  remarks  on,  10;  correct, 


of  words  ending  in  -ible,  -able, 
16,  17;  of  classical  names,  17; 
of  proper  names,  25-27  (see  also 
note);  distinctively  British,  27- 
31;  reformed,  31  (see  also  note); 
illiterate,  32  (see  also  note) ;  sup- 
posed faults  in,  43,  44;  bad, 
should  be  repeated  in  copies  of 
originals,  51;  knowledge  of,  in- 
sufficient in  proof-reading,  310; 
obsolete  British,  316  (see  also 
note) 

Standard  Dictionary,  use  of,  in 
United  States,  5;  spelling  of,  8 
(note);  chemical  words  in,  18 
(note) ;  preferred  spellings  of,  28 
(note  2),  29  (note),  31 

Stanzas,  numerals  of  roman  small 
capitals  for,  90 

States,  Southern,  use  of  O  in,  15 ; 
Northern,  use  of  oh  in,  15 ;  usual 
abbreviations  of,  53,  54 

Statius,  Publius  Papinius,  109 
(note) 

Statues,  use  of  italic  for  names  of, 
104 

Sterne,  Laurence,  259,  271,  273,  278 

Stone,  clipped  words  cut  in,  33 

Stormonth,  Rev.  James,  328 

Stormonth's  Dictionary,  an  author- 
ity in  England  and  colonies,  5; 
known  omy  by  name  to  many 
American  proof-readers,  8;  dif- 
ferences of  spelling  in,  28  (see 
also  note  1),  29  (see  also  note),  31 ; 
spelling  of,  328 

Style,  niceties  in,  8 ;  uniformity  of, 
78,  157,  158  (see  also  note),  328; 
chap-book,  142 ;  characteristics 
of  small-capital,  146,  147;  for 
side-headings  and  subheadings, 
152 ;  types  radically  different  in, 
159;  types  identical  in,  but  of 
different  shape,  159,  160 ;  typo- 
graphic, 305,  310;  written  code 
of,  328.  See  Mannerisms 

Subheadings,  division  of  words  in, 
131 ;  in  small  capitals,  149 ;  in 
lower-case,  149 ;  capitals  and 
small  capitals  an  approved  style 
for,  152 ;  should  agree  with  types 
of  text,  159;  regular,  164;  cut-in 
notes  needless  space  than,  180; 
indention  not  needed  under 
short,  186 ;  spacing  of,  20] ,  232  et 
seq. ;  types  selected  for,  230-235 ; 
omission  of  period  at  end  of,  268, 
269.  See  Side-headings 

Subtitles,  divisions  sometimes  un- 
avoidable in,  131 


Index 


473 


Suffixes,  9,  16,  17,  18-24.  27  (note), 
28-31 

Summaries,  use  of  capitals  in,  126, 
127 ;  divisions  in  square-set,  131 ; 
of  chapters,  148,  149;  type  and 
indention  of,  187,  188 

Swift,  Jonathan,  246 

Syllables,  in  pronunciation  and 
compounding,  63  (note) ;  when 
accented  with  dieresis,  64,  65; 
numerals  of  one  and  two,  66; 
prefixes  of  one  and  two,  73;  di- 
visions on,  128-130,  132  et  seq., 
198,  199 ;  theory  and  practice  of 
making,  144;  on  the  shortening 
and  the  accenting  of.fiual,  286 

Symbols,  use  of,  in  scientific  trea- 
tises and  text-books,  37, 42  (note  1) 

Tables,  neat  arrangement  of  fig- 
ures in,  37 ;  abbreviations  or  con- 
tractions in,  37,  39  et  seq. ;  piece- 
fractions  should  not  be  used  with 
solid  fractions  in  same,  83 ;  use 
of  ciphers  in,  84;  figures  indis- 

gensable  and  cast  on  en  body 
w,  85,  87,  89;  old-style  figures 
in  solid,  90  (note) ;  italic  for  head- 
ings of,  105,  231  (see  also  note) ; 
of  contents,  126,  127, 148,  149 ;  di- 
visions in  narrow  measures  of, 
131 ;  selection  of  type  for,  157, 158 


Teall,  F.  Horace,  62  (see  also  note), 

143 

Tennyson,  Alfred,  334  (note),  351 
Tense,  obsolete  or  little-used  forms 

of  past,  8,  9 

Terminations,  divisible,  135, 137, 138 
Terminals,  consolidated,  73 
Terminology,  scientific,  45 
Terms,  chemical,  18  (see  also  note) ; 
abbreviations   of    scientific,  60; 
little-used,  338 
Territories,    usual    abbreviations 

for,  53,  54 

Text,  abbreviations  or  contrac- 
tions in,  37  (see  also  note),  38  et 
seq. ;  marks  of  reference  in,  42 
(see  also  note  1);  use  of  amper- 
sand in,  42  (see  also  note  2),  43 ; 
extracts,  quotations,  and  docu- 
ments inserted  in,  43;  use  of 
capitals  and  of  small  capitals  for 
abbreviated  titles  in,  44;  use  of 
words  for  numbers  in,  76 ;  figures 
not  pleasing  but  sometimes  ne- 
cessary in  descriptive,  84,  85; 


old-style  figures  in  lower-case, 
90  (note);  roman  numerals  in 
lower-case,  91 ;  type  selected  for, 
92  (see  also  note  2);  italic  ap- 
proved for  book,  in  sixteenth 
century,  94;  use  of  italic  for  em- 
phasis in,  96;  certain  proper 
names  in,  italicized,  104;  italic 
for  citations  in,  105;  commen- 
taries in,  italicized  and  brack- 
eted, 107;  quotations  in  type  of, 
107 ;  use  of  capitals  for  titles  in. 
Ill,  112;  when  quotations  should 
be  capitalized  in,  124;  capital 
letters  as  means  of  distinction  or 
display  in.  124-126 ;  of  serious  or 
standard  books,  125;  dislike  of 
abbreviations  in,  144;  long  and 
short  quotations  introduced  into, 
146;  leading  of  small  capitals 
and  of  lower-case,  149;  small 
'  capitals  rarely  used  for  emphatic 
words  of,  156;  whether  leaded 
or  solid  decided  bv  publisher, 
157;  proper  type  for,  158-161; 
inserts  in  type  smaller  than  that 
of,  161,  163,  164;  regular  sub- 
headings of,  164 ;  honorary  titles 
in  lower-case  of,  170 ;  leading  of, 
174,  175;  separated  from  notes 
by  hair-line  rule,  177,  178 ;  cut-in 
notes  in  roman  lower-case  three 
sizes  smaller  than  type  of,  180; 
composition  of  book,  183,  184; 
indention  of  extracts  in,  195, 
196;  five-to-em-  or  hair-spacing 
of  lines  of,  201;  spacing  of,  at 
side  of  illustrations,  206;  pur- 
pose of  quote-marks  in,  210; 
titles  in  foot-notes  and  in,  226; 
spacing  of  illustrations  in,  233, 
234,  236  (see  also  note)  -,  brackets 
and  parentheses  in,  239;  use  of 
brackets  to  inclose  interpolated 
words  in,  277.  See  Composition 

Text-books,  signs  or  symbols  in, 
42  (note  1);  abbreviations  in,  48: 
for  study  of  close  pointing,  259 : 
standard,  305 

The.     See  Article 

Ther  Hoernen,  Arnold,  arabic  fig- 
ures first  used  by,  89 

Time,  on  the  use  of  words  and  of 
figures  for  statements  of,  82 

-tion,  nouns  ending  in,  22 

Title-pages,  use  of  ampersand  in 
English,  43;  small  capitals  used 
for  honorary  titles  in,  44,  45 :  ro- 
man numerals  used  for  dates  in, 
87  et  seq. ;  division  of  words  in, 


474 


Index 


131;  chap-book  style  of,  142; 
so-called  artistic,  143 ;  small  cap- 
itals freely  used  for  catch-lines 
of,  146 ;  made  attractive  or  re- 
pelling, 182,  183;  importance  of 
suitable  blanks  for,  183;  half- 
diamond  indention  used  in,  189- 
191;  motto  indention  used  by 
French  printers  in,  192 ;  squared 
indention  in  favor  for  undis- 
played  parts  of,  193,  194 ;  spacing 
of  display  lines  of,  201,  204 ;  un- 
couth, 208  (note) ;  omission  of  pe- 
riod at  end  of  displayed  lines  in, 
268,  269;  without  points,  289,  290 

Titles,  abbreviations  of,  43-45,  60, 
290;  compound  civic  and  mili- 
tary, 68 ;  rpman  numerals  in,  91 ; 
use  of  italic  for  running,  94,  97, 
105;  in  works  on  bibliography, 
102;  in  foot-notes,  103;  in  ordi- 
nary book-work,  103  (see  also 
note) ;  of  books,  periodicals, 
plays,  and  pictures,  111,  112; 
long  or  complex,  112;  capitals 
preferred  for,  112,  113  ;  of  corpo- 
rations, 113,  114;  of  honor  or  dis- 
tinction, 114-118;  capitalization 
of  compound,  116,  117;  use  of 
capitals  for  running,  126,  127, 
151 ;  small  capitals  used  for  run- 
ning, 146,  151 ;  suitable  type  for, 
and  spacing  of,  running,  151, 152, 
157;  should  agree  with  types  of 
text,  159;  honorary,  in  letters, 
170;  needless  use  of  quotation- 
marks  for,  221 ;  use  of  italic  and 
of  quote-marks  for,  225-229;  ex- 
actness in  citing,  226;  omission  of 
period  at  end  of  running,  268,  269 

Toresani,  Andrew,  175  (note) 

Treatises,  abbreviations  in  scien- 
tific, 37;  study  of  authoritative, 
125 ;  on  punctuation,  241 ;  on 
grammar,  241 

Trench,  Richard  Chenevix,  58,  220 
(see  also  note  2) 

Turner,  Sharon,  332  (note) 

Type,  how  to  minimize  expense 
of  alterations  in,  10;  books  in 
roman,  printed  in  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, 35 ;  use  of  small,  for  abbre- 
viations, 35,  36 ;  ordinary  font  of, 
57 ;  arable  figures  of  book,  87,  88 ; 
for  text  and  notes,92  (see  also  note 
2) ;  for  quotations,  107 ;  rigidity 
of,  138  (see  also  note) ;  five  cor- 
related series  in  complete  font 
of,  145 ;  capitals  and  small  capi- 
tals an  approved  style  of,  for 


side-headings  and  subheadings, 
152,  230 ;  readers  not  helped  In- 
artificial arrangement  and  mix- 
ing of,  154;  for  side-headings, 
155,  156 ;  size  and  style  of,  for 
books  determined  by  publisher. 
157;  should  be  selected  before 
copy  goes  to  compositors,  158 
(see  also  note),  159 ;  uniformity 
needed  in  pages  of,  159, 160 ;  sug- 
gestions for  graduating  sizes  of. 
160, 161 ;  for  inserts,  161,  163  ;  f  or 
letter  headings,  163  et  seq. ;  aban- 
donment of  ornamental,  167 : 
honorary  titles  in  lower-case  of 
text,  170;  for  notes,  174,  175: 
signs  of  reference  in  font  of 
book,  175;  for  side-notes,  179- 
181 ;  for  cut-in  notes,  180,  181 : 
for  centre-notes,  181;  for  shoul- 
der-notes, 181 ;  for  title-pages. 
182 ;  very  wide  indention  un- 
pleasing  even  in  script,  185 ;  uni- 
form indention  of  two  or  more 
sizes  of,  187  ;  distinction  in  sub- 
ject-matter shown  by  change  in 
size  and  style  of,  187;  half -dia- 
mond indention  for  display  of. 
190 ;  plain  and  undisplayed,  195 ; 
spacing  of,  198  et  seq.,  289;  lean 
and  fat,  202;  quote-marks  not 
needed  for  extracts  in  small,  214: 
for  subheadings,  230-232;  for 
legend  lines,  235  et  seq. ;  for  ex- 

Elanatory  descriptions  following 
igends,  237,  238 ;  for  side-head- 
ings, 240;  condensed  two-line. 
289;  danger  of  meddling  with, 
356;  all  unmarked  changes  in, 
should  be  "ringed  "  by  composi- 
tor, electrotyper,  or  pressman, 
356,  357.  See  Letters 

Type-founders,  medieval  abbrevia- 
tions reproduced  by  American, 
49  (see  also  note ) ;  French,  152 : 
over-prominence  of  parentheses 
made  by,  276 :  solid  and  sectional 
braces  furnished  by,  287,  288 

Type-setters,  qualifications  needed 
by,  in  proof-reading,  314,  315; 
daily  performance  of,  336,  337. 
See  Book-printers,  Compositors. 
Job-printers,  and  Printers 

Type-setting,  laborious  methods 
of,  167;  early  days  of,  199;  cost 
of  proof-reading  compared  with 
that  of,  295.  See  Composition 

Type-setting  machines,  *  com  posi- 
tion on,  96;  use  of  italic  and  small 
capitals  curtailed  by,  96,  97,  156 ; 


Index 


475 


special  adjustment  of  spaces  im- 
possible in,  200 ;  bad  copy  not 
accepted  for,  344;  expert  com- 
positors on,  354,  355 

Type-writing,  old  method  of  priiit- 
'ing  in  fashion  of,  142 

Typographia,  95 

Typography,  niceties  belonging  to 
grammar  rather  than  to,  8,  9; 
revival  of  old  fashion  in,  99; 
proper  use  of  italic  a  help  to 
good,  104,  105;  unknown  re- 
former of,  130;  new  school  of, 
131,  149,  193,  207  (note),  287;  old 
method  of,  142;  tendency  of 
modern,  1C7;  distinct  branch  of 
graphic  arts,  167;  fifteenth-cen- 
tury school  of,  203  (note) ;  Kelm- 
scott  school  of,  236 ;  good  general 
rule  in,  238 ;  errors  in  early,  346 
et  seq.  See  Printing 

Underscorings,  for  italic,  small 
capitals,  and  capitals,  340;  for 
display,  340 

United  States,  dictionaries  used  in, 
5 ;  new  places  recently  named  in, 
25 ;  methods  of  dividing  words 
in,  129,  130.  See  America 

University  Press,  35,  140 

Usage,  writers  not  governed  by,  6 ; 
mannerisms  in  writing  confirmed 
by,  6 

Verbs,  capitalization  of,  in  book 
titles,  127;  division  of,  135;  use 
of  comma  with,  253,  254  , 

Verses,  period  not  needed  after 
figures  at  beginning  of,  93;  first 
word  of,  capitalized,  107,  108; 
notes  composed  of,  179 

Versicle,  symbol  of,  48 

Vessels,  use  of  italic  for  names  of, 
104;  quote-marks  for,  228,  229 

Vocative,  use  of  exclamation-point 
in,  14,  283 

Vowels,  use  of  an  before  words  be- 
ginning with,  13 ;  pronunciation 
of  Greek  K  before,  18;  dieresis 
always  on  second,  64,  65 ;  division 
of  words  on,  128,  129,  137 

Vulgate,  errors  in  early  edition  of, 
348 

Webster,  Noah,  134  (note),  316 
(note),  328 

Webster's  Dictionary,  an  authority 
in  United  States,  5 ;  latest  edition 
of,  5;  preferred  spellings  of,  28 
(note  2),  29  (note),  31;  the  word 


discrepancy  in,  141;  spelling  of, 
328 

Whittingham,  Charles,  290 

Wicked  Bible,  348 

Wilson,  John,  135  (note),  143,  220 
(note  1),  320  (note) 

Windeliu  of  Speyer,  34,  99 

Woodcuts,  legend  lines  under,  234 

Worcester's  Dictionary,  an  author- 
ity in  United  States,  5;  preferred 
spellings  of,  28  (note  2),  29  (note), 
31 ;  the  word  discrepancy  in,  141 

Words,  differences  of  dictionaries 
in  spelling  of,  relatively  few,  5, 
6;  divergences  in  compounding 
of,  6,  7  ;  variations  in  British  and 
American  spelling  and  com- 
pounding of,  6 ;  efforts  of  editors 
and  proof-readers  for  consistency 
in  compound,  7;  decision  of  au- 
thor final  in  spelling  and  division 
of,  in  printing-house,  7;  forma- 
tion of  foreign,  in  plural,  8,  9; 
use  of  accents  and  diacritical 
marks  in  English,  9;  ending  in 
-able,  -ible,  -ent,  -ant,  -ise,  -ize, 
-or,  -er,  9,  16,  17,  18-21  (see  also 
notes),  23,  29,  30;  author  should 
furnish  list  of  preferred  spellings 
of  peculiar,  9;  made  uncertain 
by  illegible  writing,  10 ;  spelling 
of,  in  the  plural,  11,  12;  Latin 
and  Greek,  13  (see  also  note  1) ; 
French,  13  (see  also  note  1);  ac- 
centing of,  14 ;  ending  in  -in,  -ine, 
-id,  -ide,  18;  new  spellings  of 
chemical,  18  (note) ;  in  -sion  and 
-tion,  22;  irregular  forms  of,  22; 
in  -ance,  -ence,  -ancy,  -ency,  -ant, 
-ent,  23,  24 ;  special  lists  of  some 
variable,  27-31;  in  -our,  28,  29 
(see  also  note);  in  -ment,  31; 
clipped,  as  old  as  writing,  33; 
must  be  in  full  where  space  per- 
mits, 37  (see  also  note) ;  abbre- 
viated, in  technical  and  scientific 
works,  37 ;  on  spelling  out  and 
contraction  of,  38  et  seq. ;  abbre- 
viation of  Latin,  49;  foreign  or 
little-used,  60,  338;  compound, 
61  et  seq. ;  good  writers  do  not 
favor  increase  of  compound,  64; 
useless  hyphened,  65;  consoli- 
dated, separate,  and  hyphened, 
70  et  seq. ;  over-wide  spacing 
caused  by  compound,  75 ;  in  legal 
documents  and  formal  writings, 
77  (see  also  note),  78,  79:  in  news- 
paper and  job  work,  77,  78;  in 
same  sentence  with  figures,  80 ; 


476 


degrees  of  inclination  should  be 
expressed  in,  81 ;  use  of,  for  quali- 
fying numerals,  81;  for  state- 
ments of  time,  82 ;  expression  of 
amounts  in,  82;  used  for  isolated 
vulgar  fractions,  83 ;  for  numeri- 
cal names  of  streets  and  avenues, 
85,  8(5  (see  also  note);  for  regi- 
ments and  corps  of  the  army,  86, 
87;  used  instead  of  roman  nu- 
merals, 91,  92;  use  of  italic  for 
foreign,  97,  99-102,  105,  222; 
quoted  from  Greek  or  German, 
98 ;  incorporated  in  English  lan- 
guage, 100,  101;  italicized  and 
accented,  102,  105-107;  inconsis- 
tencies in  capitalization  of  quali- 
fying, 120;  en  dash  for  compound, 
in  line  of  capitals,  126;  division 
of,  128  et  seq. ;  compounded  from 
Greek  or  Latin,  129;  unequal 
spacing  of,  130;  derived  from 
foreign  languages,  142;  proper 
rendering  of  printed,  143 ;  books 
on  division  of,  143,  144;  division 
of  foreign,  144 ;  useless  display  of, 
164;  relief  of  surrounding  blank 
needed  by  printed,  182;  old 
methods  of  huddling,  183  (note) ; 
diagonal  display  of,  195 ;  spacing 
of,  198  et  seq.  ;  division  of,  on 
syllables,  198,  199;  old  fashion  of 
distinguishing,  213 ;  use  of  quote- 
marks  for  criticized,  215 ;  quota- 
tions of  isolated,  216;  place  of 
quote-marks  should  be  deter- 
mined only  by  quoted,  217 ;  use 
of  comma  with  certain,  254; 
clauses  beginning  with  limiting, 
256;  dash  once  used  to  indicate 
suppressed,  269 ;  use  of  brackets 
to  inclose  interpolated,  277 ;  com- 
pounded with  hyphen,  286;  spell- 
ing out  of  foreign  or  unusual, 
198;  verification  of  scientific,  300 ; 
of  foreign,  306;  ambiguous  or 
improper,  306 

Working-man's  Way  in  the  World, 
311  (note),  312  (note) 

Writers,  differing  authorities  on 
spelling  preferred  by,  5 ;  changes 
in  word  forms  originate  with,  6 ; 
liberties  taken  by  some,  7 ;  pre- 
cautions observed  by  disciplined, 
10;  imperfect  copy  furnished 
by,  10,  299,  317;  interjections  O 
and  oh  used  interchangeably  by, 
14;  classical  forms  in  manu- 
script of  educated,  17 ;  reformed 
spelling  used  by,  31 ;  ignorant, 


tenacious  about  spelling  and  ex- 
pression, 32 ;  abbreviations  read- 
ily made  by  early,  35;  abuse  of 
abbreviations  by  undisciplined, 
38;  compositors  should  follow 
copy  of  educated,  43,  44,  50, 
60.  327,  330,  331;  illiterate  or 
careless,  44,  327;  do  not  favor 
increase  of  compounds,  64; 
spelled-out  words  preferred  in- 
stead of  roman  numerals  by 
many,  91,  92 ;  free  use  of  italic 
for  emphasis  shows  bad  taste  of, 
96 ;  capitals  not  used  for  empha- 
sis by  exact,  126;  how  small 
capitals  are  indicated  by,  145; 
small  capitals  for  signatures  of. 
150,  151;  mannerisms  of,  163  et 
seq. ;  quote-marks  should  be  used 
only  for  exact  words  of,  215; 
methods  of  advertisement,  222; 
treatises  on  punctuation  for  un- 
disciplined, 241 ;  punctuation  by 
disciplined,  243;  study  of  punc- 
tuation in  good,  259  ;  dash  used 
as  substitute  for  other  points  by. 
269,  270;  loose  phrasing  of  un- 
disciplined, 307;  negligences  of. 
317,  318 ;  copy  of  professional. 
334  (see  also  note).  See  Authors 
Writing,  authors  apparently  indif- 
ferent about,  10;  words  made 
uncertain  by  illegible,  10;  for- 
mation of  plurals  in  scientific, 
11;  illiterate,  32,  108  (see  also 
note) ;  clipped  words  as  old  as, 
33;  abbreviations  in  descriptive, 
in  eighteenth  century,  35;  com- 
mon abbreviations  in  epistolary. 
36;  importance  of  distinctness 
in,  38,  333  et  seq. ;  carelessly  pre- 
pared, 43,  317,  318;  free  use  of 
arable  figures  in,  76 ;  words  pre- 
ferred in  formal,  77  (see  also 
note);  spelled-out  words  some- 
times obligatory  in  compact.  7!i: 
arabic  figures  used  for  dates  in 
ordinary,  81;  statements  of  time 
in  formal  and  in  rapid,  82 ;  use  of 
capitals  in  formal,  122 ;  in  some 
kinds  of  descriptive.  126;  trea- 
tises on  punctuation  of,  241 ; 
open  punctuation  in  ordinary 
descriptive,  244;  for  the  press. 
317,  318,  343,  344 ;  errors  caused 
by  bad,  352,  353 

Zodiac,  signs  of,  47 
Zoology,  use  of  capitals  and  italic 
for  names  in,  106,  107 


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